Dark Shift
by brown phantom
Summary: POLL. After a mission goes horribly wrong, something happens to Naruto. His mask of happiness turns dark and cruel, and he turns against the village he had sworn to protect. Can he be returned to normal before it's too late? Plot inspired by MW83, Dark NaruHina
1. Chapter 1

**_The original plot of this story was created by Mattwilson83, who gave my friend Knight-Bishop permission to turn it into an actual story. At his request, I will be posting it and writing it with him._**

**_Warning, this is meant to be a dark and mature story, so expect violence, cruel situations, sexual themes, and maybe a lot of OOCness in cases. I cannot physically stop anyone from reading this, but don't say I didn't warn you._**

The reports had been coming in for the past two weeks now. In the outskirts of the Fire Country people had been disappearing. Men, women, children, all suddenly vanishing, as if pulled right out of existence.

It had started off slowly at first, just one or two would vanish every few weeks from a small town or trading post. Not exactly an unheard of phenomenon. But then more and more started to go, and the numbers slowly began to mount up and rise. People began to suspect someone or something was behind it all, so they stayed in at night while those who traveled made sure to take the main roads.

In two months nearly a hundred and fifty people had gone missing. When word reached the Fire Daimyo, he quickly called upon Konoha to solve this mystery.

Now, under normal circumstances, a team of three would have been sent out to investigate and deal with these matters. However at the moment, the Hidden Leaf Village did not have a team to spare. All of their teams were either already out on missions, or those available did not have the training or experience necessary to go out just yet.

So the Hokage, Tsunade came up with a solution. An old friend and annoyance had just returned home.

* * *

><p>"Damn Baa-chan." Naruto grumbled as he moved through the forest.<p>

Uzumaki Naruto had just returned from his three year training mission with 'Ero-sennin' Jiraiya and from saving Gaara from the Akatsuki. He had been back for not even one day and had to go back out. All he wanted to do was say hi to some friends, visit his favorite ramen shop, and just relax for a bit in his home. Maybe if he could, he'd even play some sort of prank on Tsunade; maybe pour hot sauce into her sake bottle. But instead he was sent on some lousy C-rank mission to find out what he can on a few missing people. He wasn't even sent with back-up; he was simply told to scout out the area and find out if anyone talked about anyone missing.

This was exactly the dull type of mission he hated doing. Almost as much as he and many others hated chasing down Tora. However, Tsunade told him to suck it up, her words, and do it anyway because if he really wanted to be Hokage he had to learn how to observe and plan rather than just fight and react.

"I'm sixteen and yet I still get treated like a kid." The blonde said as he halted on the branch of a tall tree to survey the area.

While he tried not to care about such things, he was a bit jealous of the fact that all of his friends were now chūnin's and he was still a genin. Heck, Neji was a jounin and Naruto was certain he could still beat the Hyuuga prodigy in a fight. He worked hard and had done a lot for the village, including but not limited to taking down Gaara and fighting Orochimaru and surviving. And yet…

Naruto shook his head, chasing away the bad thoughts. "Ah who cares? A ninja is a ninja, and rank means nothing compared to skill and experience." He said proudly as he began to move again.

* * *

><p>After a four hour search he had found nothing. This was his third and final day of the search before he would have to head back home and make his report, but he intended to make his final search a thorough one.<p>

He had sent out a good hundred of his shadow clones to cover more ground. Focusing in the reported areas where most of the people had gone missing. And yet they continued to find nothing. And when they had found nothing, they expanded their search outward, checking every place, both suspicious and peculiar to just plain stupid, like literally looking under large rocks or sticking a head in a rabbit hole. And still nothing.

The blonde Uzumaki groaned and finally sat down on the ground leaning against the trunk of a huge tree. He opened up his bag and pulled out a sealed thermos, opening it and inhaling the aroma of delicious beef ramen.

"Can't expect to find missing people on an empty stomach." Naruto reasoned as he began to eat his lunch.

He sat there for a bit of leisure time. It was a pretty beautiful day, the weather was warm, the sun was shining, and there was not a cloud in the sky.

Naruto had just finished his lunch and emptied his bladder when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in the side of his neck. He slapped it quickly, pulling back his hand to find a patch of blood and some mashed black thing. "Ewww, fucking mosquito." Naruto said as he whipped his hand on the ground.

He packed his thermos back into his bag, and he got up off the ground ready to restart his search.

But the moment he took a step forward he suddenly felt woozy. Naruto shook his head a few times, but that only seemed to make it worse. His vision started to become blurred and he felt lightheaded.

"What the…?" He said, his voice sounded disoriented. Suddenly, his limbs began to feel very heavy, his arms felt like lead and he could not lift his legs.

"Whaz gaen ayn?" Naruto said, his tongue going numb as the world began to spin. All of his strength left him and he fell forward onto the ground, unable to support himself any longer.

Before his vision completely left him, Naruto saw several men, dressed in camouflaged uniforms step out into the open. One of them was carrying a blowgun.

_'That… was… not… a… mosquito.'_ Naruto thought before he went blind then lost the ability to tell which direction was up.

* * *

><p>It was cold and dark when Naruto came to.<p>

His head was throbbing horribly. It felt like someone was hammering the inside of his skull. His entire body was numb, enough that when he wiggled his toes and moved his fingers, he could barely feel them.

"Oh Kami... what... hit me?" Naruto asked himself as he tried to sit up, only to discover that he could not.

It was then the room became flooded with bright intense light, so bright Naruto had to close his eyes tightly.

There were the sounds of footsteps which ceased after a moment, and then started talking. "Come now boy, if you keep your eyes shut, your retinas won't have a chance to adjust to the light." It was the voice of a man.

Naruto, although he didn't want to listen to the words of his possible captors, opened his eyes very slowly and slightly. He had to blink a few times, but after a moment his eyes adjusted and he was able to see. And the first thing he saw was the face of a short-haired old man wearing black shades staring at him, smiling a wide toothy smile. His front right tooth was missing, but that appeared to be his most unique characteristic.

"Ah, now see, that wasn't so hard was it?" He asked with a small yet sinister chuckle.

Naruto tried to lift his head, but he quickly found out that it had been strapped down to a long table. Not only that but he could see that he had been stripped down to his black boxer shorts, and that black cords were strapped across his chest, his wrists, and his legs. He could not move at all. He also saw that there was an IV stand next to him, with tubes going down and pumping some fluid into him.

"Do forgive the straps. There are quite the necessity as I have discovered that ninja are pretty much useless so long as they can't use their hands to perform any ninjutsu." The man said as he fixed his shades.

Naruto's eyes suddenly darted back towards the man, trying to see if he could recognize him. The man looked like he was in his late thirties or early forties. He had light brownish hair with a few bits of grey in it, and he wore a spotless white lab coat.

The blonde opened his mouth to shout questions at the man but he discovered that no sound passed his dry, parched lips.

The lab coat man laughed a bit as he clapped his hands together. "Oh dear. Well, the drug we used to knock you out does cause a bit of dehydration, which is why we have liquid being fed into you." He pointed to the IV next to Naruto.

Naruto stared at the man coldly with his dark eyes, his mind screaming. _'When I get out of this old man I am going to beat you senseless, and then I am gonna find out who the hell you are.'_

Almost as if he could read the blonde's mind, the lab coat man laughed loudly, his voice echoing around the room. "I am afraid my boy, that you will not be getting out of this any time soon. I suppose that you are wondering who I am though." The lab-coat man reached into his pocket and pulled out a small remote and pressed a button.

The table gave a shake and Naruto felt it tilting forward to a standing position. He was now able to get a better look at the room around him. It was a bleach white room. It had a sterile clean smell that reminded Naruto of a hospital or dentist's office. All along the walls of the room were cabinets, and in front of him there was a single door. Standing in front of the door was the only other person in the room, Naruto's captor.

The labcoat man rubbed his hands together. "My name is Doctor Okaru. I am a scientist of various fields of research."

Naruto, licking his dry lips, was finally able to get some words out, "You... kidnapped… all those… people?" He gasped out.

Okaru smiled. "Yes."

"B-Bastard!" Naruto coughed out, what he would give for some water…or to be free so he could kick this jerk's ass.

"Sticks and stones my boy. You see my benefactor, the man who funds all my research, he demands certain results. Results which require a number of human subjects."

A single name suddenly flashed in Naruto's mind. "Orochimaru." He said hoarsely.

"Oh ho, you're more clever than I gave you credit for. And here I thought you were just another dumb blonde." Okaru said as his smile became even wider. "Yes, Lord Orochimaru does indeed finance all my research."

"He… is a… monster." Naruto muttered, his throat was still so dry, it hurt to talk.

"It all really depends on the perspective. In your perspective he is a monster, but in mine he is a genius. And it is an honor and privilege to work for him." Okaru said as he walked over to one of the cabinets. From it he withdrew a syringe and a small vial of amber liquid.

Naruto watched the man, but he kept struggling with his restraints, thinking that if he could just get one of his hands loose he would be able to get out of here.

Okaru, sticking the needle of the syringe into the vial, talked as he drew some of the liquid. "It's no use struggling. There is no getting out of those bonds unless I release you." He said as he flicked the needle once, getting any excess air out.

"What… are… you doing?" Naruto demanded.

"Oh well, you see, I need to run a few tests on you my boy. It's necessary for the experiment, but don't you worry, I will be personally surveying all of those tests. So at least you will have a familiar face to watch over you. It is rather a shame that you will be doing it alone, I am afraid all of those subjects weren't quite up to snuff." Okura sighed heavily. "They all had to be disposed of, a real shame. I had such high hopes."

Naruto's eyes widened all of those people. Men, women, and even children, they were all dead and he talked about them like they were groceries gone bad.

Okaru continued to talk. "Yes, it seemed that none of them had the necessary endurance or strength to survive. I was about to give up hope, I had letter all ready to be sent to Lord Orochimaru. But then you, my fine young man, you showed up. And from that headband I can see that you are a ninja. It was then that I realized, all I had ever used before were civilians. Maybe a ninja would have the required attributes to survive the experiment." The mad doctor laughed. "You cheered up my entire day."

The blonde, suddenly struggled even harder with his bonds. He strained his wrists, trying to get the straps to snap and break. But no such luck.

Okaru's smile never faded. "Oh don't worry, I am sure you will do fine. If not, well better luck next time I guess. Like they say, try try again." He said as he jabbed the needle into Naruto's arm and injected him. And the world vanished into the oblivion of darkness.

* * *

><p>Days went by; at least he thought it was days. Naruto had lost all sense of time. They kept filling him with drugs. Drugs that made everything blur together, drugs that took away his sight for hours making him rely on his other senses. Some of the drugs caused him to forget his name, other drugs made him sleep and have nothing but terrible nightmares in which he screamed to wake up. But some of the drugs were good, some of them took the pain away.<p>

The pain caused by the experiments.

One after another the experiments came, some of them seemed more designed for torture then science.

He had been strapped to a chair and then dunked into ice water, and held under there until it felt as if his lungs were going to explode from lack of air. And then they would raise him up and check his vitals and temperature.

They had placed wires into, not onto him, _into_ him. And then send electric shocks throughout his body, causing his muscles to spasm uncontrollably.

They always kept taking samples from him, blood and skin samples. They had even held him down and stuck a needle into his back, taking out spinal fluid.

One of the worst experiments, though, was when they stripped him naked of his clothing and chained him into a pure white room that was so bright it he had to shut his eyes. They asked him questions, so many questions. His name, how old he was, where he had been born.

If he refused to answer, the room would make a horrible noise. It was long, screeching, and painful. Even if he covered his ears, the noise still hurt him worse than a kunai through the ribs.

Sometimes they often asked the same question over and over again even after he had answered.

He was fed, as they gave him some kind of bland white mush that had an aftertaste that reminded him of mushrooms, and that was all they gave him. At one point he had eaten so much of it he felt as if would start coming out of his nose.

Sleep was rare, and when it came it had been induced by the drugs. And even when he did sleep he would awaken feeling more tired than he had before.

Another experiment was when they put a collar around his neck and chained it to a pole that came out of the wall. The wall was designed to spin around, and Naruto had to run along with the pole, or he would be dragged across the rough and bumpy floor. For every lap he did, the wall and pole would move faster and faster, and by the time the experiment had ended he had fallen down to the ground several times. His front and back were badly bruised, his neck was stiff and there was a red mark where the chain collar had been around it, and he could no longer feel his legs, although he was pretty sure they were still moving.

They had taken back to room, which was actually just a small tiny cell. It was completely bare and there was just enough room for him to sit down if he did it in the fetal position.

It was utterly humiliating.

Naruto, although he had resisted and fought them tooth and nail in the beginning, was now being to feel the toll of their work. He felt so weak, his arms and legs felt like lead. Every bone in his body ached. It even hurt to breath.

_'What the hell is this guy trying to accomplish?' _The blonde leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes, not to sleep though, but to remember. _'And why isn't that stupid fox helping me here? Why can't I use any of his chakra?'_

The memories of his village were his only source of relief. Of his apartment, his favorite ramen shop (his mouth still drooled at that part), the academy. And of his friends, all his friends, who he hoped he would see again, whenever he got out of this hellhole.

It was then that Naruto's walk down memory lane was interrupted, by a sudden sharp pain in his neck and rough hands grabbing and slamming him down onto a hard surface. He wanted to open his eyes, but they felt so heavy.

After what felt like hours, cold water was suddenly splashed onto his face. His eyes suddenly snapped open and he looked around, seeing he was back in the room he had been in when he first woke when… whenever he had first awoken here.

He had been strapped to what he guessed was the same gurney, facing upward so he could look in front of him. But in front of him was the last person he wanted to see.

Sitting at a table, eating food, real food, consisting of grilled fish, tea, and a loaf of what seemed to be freshly baked bread, was Okaru, who was smiling happily at Naruto as he took a sip from his cup.

"Why hello my boy, and how are you today?" He asked.

Naruto glared at the man. He had come to hate that damned doctor with every atom of his body and soul. The way he kept looking and smiling at Naruto like he was some prized cattle, ready to be shipped off to the slaughterhouse. If Naruto was able to use any chakra, his own or Kyuubi's, this man and everyone here would be less than compost by now.

One of the burly guards, who was dressed in black like a classic bodyguard unlike the workers who all dressed in white, smacked Naruto hard across the face.

"The doctor asked you a question brat. Answer him."

Okaru continued to smile. "It's quite alright, I'm sure the boy simply did not hear me. So let's try again, how are you feeling Naruto? And don't worry, you can tell me, I am a doctor."

Naruto gritted his teeth, he hated to give this man the satisfaction, but he did speak. His voice though, was broken and without emotion. "Pretty crappy doc."

Okaru frowned. "Oh dear, well I am sorry to hear that. But I think I know something that will make you much happier."

_'You are a disease and are going to die a slow painful death.'_ Naruto thought with a vengeance.

"You passed all of the experiments, with flying colors actually. Just as I knew you would. I must say that I am very proud of you Naruto."

"Can I have a lollipop then?" Naruto asked with a dry sarcastic laugh.

The black-dressed guard was about to smack Naruto again when Okaru held up his hand, stopping him. "So sorry, but I am fresh out of lollipops. But I do have something else for you, something very special."

He rose up from his table and withdrew from his lab coat pocket was a syringe.

Naruto stared at it, this one looked different from all of the others that had been used on him. The disposable plastic ones, no, this one was made out of glass and metal, and it actually looked old-fashioned.

And in that syringe was some type of purple black liquid, almost like ink.

"One final injection my golden boy. You are the only one to ever make it this far in the experiment. If you complete this final stage… then well let's just say that Lord Orochimaru will be immeasurably happy with me." He said with total glee as he walked towards the shinobi.

It might have seemed like just another injection, one of the seemingly hundreds he had received during his time here, but Naruto knew that there was something different about this one, something that was definitely not good.

Using the remainder of his strength Naruto struggled and twisted around, trying to break free of his bonds. He even craned his neck downward and tried to chew through them like an animal.

He had to escape. He _would_ escape.

Okaru tutted. "Now now, I thought we were past this stage, but I suppose that it really does not matter anymore."

He nodded to the guard who grabbed Naruto's head and turned it, exposing his neck completely.

And Okaru drove the needle into Naruto's skin, and emptied the contents of the syringe into his blood stream.

Naruto felt two things. First was a sudden icy chill run through his entire body. Every limb and muscle went completely numb. It was even worse than before when he had woken up. However this did not last long. The second thing he felt was a deep burning sensation. It started off small at first, but then he felt as if his entire body was on fire. He felt his blood boil and sweat forming on his face.

Suddenly all his senses tripled. The light was now blinding, as if he was staring directly into the sun. He could now hear not only his heartbeat, but that of Okaru's. He could also hear the footsteps of the other researchers in the building. He could smell them, he could smell the sterile ammonia, the chemicals burned his nostrils so badly he felt as if the skin inside his nose was being peeled off.

And then all of that left him. As quickly as this overbearing discomfort had come, it vanished just as quickly. He felt completely drained, like all of his energy was disappearing and his entire body became like lead, to where even his eyelids felt heavy. His last images were of Okaru, still smiling with sadistic excitement, and then he saw… nothing.

* * *

><p>Twelve days had passed since Naruto had gone on his mission, and no one had heard a single word from him. No message, no signal, nothing. It was like he had simply fallen off the earth. Like all the other victims.<p>

On the second day after the day he was supposed to report back, Tsunade immediately sent out two of the best hunter nin that Konoha had. Both of whom had just walked back through the gates, returning from their last mission, to track him down.

But they both soon discovered that Naruto's trail suddenly went dead in the middle of the forest. He, like the others who had been kidnapped before him, had vanished without a trace.

Word was then sent out to nearby villages that Naruto might have passed, however it was the same thing from each of them. No matter how far they seemed to expand their search, no one had seen the young Uzumaki.

At the start of the second week, with still no word, Tsunade broke the news to Kakashi and the Rookies, in hopes they could succeed where others had not.

Kakashi had decided not to take either the Hokages or the Hunters report, and had gone out looking for Naruto himself. Most of the Rookies had joined him. But in the end, their results were all the same, nothing.

They each were upset to various degrees, but Hinata predictably took it the hardest, refusing to give up hope. Whenever faced with the possibility she would begin to cry and refuse to believe it, before running away to be alone.

At one point, she was sitting alone in the forest outside of Konoha. She had long since stopped crying, but she was still feeling drained, crushed, and upset from it all, only able to feel pain. Her heart was breaking a little more each day Naruto was missing, which now numbered fourteen. This wasn't like when he left to train for years, he was missing.

Her solitary thoughts were then interrupted by the sound of movement. She wiped her eyes, making sure there were no tears, as she stood up, to see who it was. But there was no sign of anyone.

"Hello?" She called out.

Then out of the shadows, dressed in a torn and dirty orange jacket, was a pale and exhausted Naruto. "GET AWAY FROM ME YOU BASTARDS!" He yelled, his voice was hoarse and dry as he swung at the air. He looked wildly around. "SHUT UP, SHUT THE HELL UP! STOP TALKING TO ME!" He screamed at the trees.

"NARUTO-KUN?" Hinata shouted as she jumped up from the ground and ran over to the Uzumaki. He did not appear to have heard her, he was still shouting at imaginary enemies or something else. She reached out slowly and placed her hand on his shoulder.

Naruto spun around, as if ready to attack Hinata, who grew stiff when she saw the utter rage and anger in his eyes. It must have been the light because they looked red.

But-

When Naruto saw her face, his expressions softened and his hands fell to his side. His delusional rage must have been the only thing that had kept him going, because his legs suddenly gave way and he fell forward

The Hyuuga heiress caught Naruto, though she struggled because his entire body was limp, but she lowered him to the ground as she held onto him. He looked horrible. His skin was extremely pale and there were heavy black lines under his eyes as if he had been denied sleep for days. His hair was matted thick with dirt and sweat. And he smelled like bleach or ammonia. Overall, he looked like a combination of Orochimaru and Gaara who had his ass kicked and dumped in sewage. But what terrified Hinata the most was the blood. There was large amounts of blood on his arms, his hands, and his clothing.

Was it his own blood or…?

"Oh Kami-sama, Naruto-kun what happened to you?" She asked, touching his forehead and immediately withdrawing her hand. He was burning up.

"Hi… Hinata… I… don't feel… so good." Naruto said weakly before passing out.

* * *

><p>Hinata had dragged Naruto back to the gates of Konoha, where he was immediately rushed to a hospital. Tsunade, Shizune, Kakashi, and Sakura were instantly informed of Naruto's return and from them the others close to him were as well. However Tsunade had forbidden anyone from seeing him until it was determined that his condition was stable. Everyone except for Hinata, who was at the moment being questioned.<p>

"Anything you can tell me about him that might help?" Tsuande asked.

They were in Naruto's room. He had been stripped of his dirty torn clothing, given a sponge bath to clean the muck and filth from his body, and given clean clothing. He did not wake up through the whole thing, and was still sleeping soundly. An IV drip had been attached to him, and a monitor had been set up to watch his steady yet low heart rate.

"He... was delirious. He kept shouting and screaming at things that weren't there. Things like 'get away from me' or 'shut up' and he also seemed to be fighting with some… invisible enemy. But… but he was coherent enough to recognize me, and when he saw my face he just seemed to snap out of it. He said 'Hinata, I don't feel so good' and passed out."

Tsunade didn't like the sound of that as she glanced back at Naruto, a worried look on her face. "What the hell happened to him? He vanishes without a trace for nearly two weeks, and then he comes back looking like he dug his way out of the ground after an oni beat him down into it."

When she had arrived at the hospital, before they had cleaned him up, she had gasped at the sorry shape Naruto was in. She had seen cadavers that had been in better shape than he was. The Slug Sannin had immediately ordered a set of blood tests, X-Rays, anything that would help her learn what had happened to Naruto. At the moment the tests were still being run, but she would know soon enough.

"Do… do you think that… the same p-person who had been kidnapping all those people did this to Naruto-kun? But he was able to escape?" Hinata asked.

Tsunade turned her attention back to the Hyuuga heiress. "Hinata, I am not sure. Only Naruto knows the truth and he is in no condition to answer questions. So I want you to be the one to watch over him from now on. I know you don't have actual medic nin training compared to Sakura and Ino, but I think you'll have a gentler touch regarding him than they will, and your eyes will be able to pick up anything if something changes. Plus, Naruto might be more reassured to see you first thing when he regains consciousness."

Hinata blushed. "Y-you... you r-really th-think so Hokage-sama?"

"Do I have to explain myself again?"

Hinata shook her head. "No Hokage-sama, I will do it."

"Good. Let me know when he regains consciousnesses." Tsunade said with a small smile as she walked out of the room. Although she did not know who did this to Naruto, she knew one thing, when she did found out they would die screaming for mercy.

Hinata stood there alone for a moment, and then she walked over to a chair in the corner and sat down. She kept her eyes focused on Naruto. '_I will look after you Naruto-kun, and I will never let anything bad happen to you.' _She thought to herself, as she ran her hand gently across his forehead. '_I promise.'_

* * *

><p>In his dreams Naruto was surrounded by utter darkness and his body was immobilized. His whole body was stiff, but it felt like he was floating in zero gravity. And while there was no one else in this black void, he could hear voices around him. These voices were dark, cold, and filled with bitter cruel feelings.<p>

_'They hate you.'_

_'They will never trust you.'_

_'They call you Monster.'_

_'Demon child.'_

_'Hate them back.'_

_'Make them suffer.'_

_'KILL THEM!'_

Suddenly Naruto's eyes snapped open, only to immediately close again.

_'Ugh... my head hurts. This place is too bright.'_ Naruto thought as he regained consciousness. _'Where am I? What's the smell? Hmm... smells like lavender.'_

He slowly opened his eyes, and saw he was in a hospital room. _'Oh crap! Am I still in that torture chamber?'_ He asked himself, looking around his surroundings. _'No, this place is differ-'_ He stopped when he saw a vase with lavender flowers beside his bed with a note attached.

_Get well soon Naruto-kun. I miss your smile. Hinata._

Underneath the flowers, there were lots of other get well items, cards and small presents, all signed to him. But what Naruto really focused on was Hinata's gift.

_'Hinata left me flowers? I must be back in Konoha. But how did I get away from that Okaru bastatd?' _Trying his damnedest, he found he could not remember anything past his last meeting with the monstrous mad scientist. _'Why can't I remember?'_

He then thought that this might all be just another drug induced dream, a dream that as pleasant and peaceful as it was…

He pinched himself hard on the leg, and closed his eyes for a minute. When he reopened them and saw that he was still in the comfortable hospital room and not the cold small cell, he let out a sigh of relief.

The sound of the door opening caught his attention, and he turned to see Hinata walk in. "Na-Naruto-kun?" She said, nearly jumping upon realizing he was awake.

"Hinata?" He asked, sounding happier than he had been in a while. "How did I get here?"

"You don't remember?" She asked.

He shook his head. "No, I don't remember a thing. My mind's a blank at the moment."

"Oh. Well, I d-don't know where you came from, but I found you in the forest outside Konoha. You were... acting like a crazy person and yelling at things that weren't there, so I brought you here and have been watching over you."

"Thanks Hinata. You're a good friend." He said, and remembering her note, smiled for her.

The pale-eyed girl blushed deeply and smiled warmly. "Th-th-thank you Na-Naruto-kun. H-how are you feeling now?"

"Headache, empty stomach, and upset I can't remember anything, and stiff in my arms and legs, but other than that I'm fine. How long have I been asleep?" He asked

"Two days, but you were missing for fourteen."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "Fourteen days! I've been gone for fourteen days?" He fell back against his pillow, trying to make sense of it all. He had been held prisoner for two weeks. He ran his hand through his hair, his head was still pounding horribly.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, worried. "Do you need me to get the doctor?"

The blonde shook his head. "No, I'm just trying to make some sense of all of this. The past two weeks were kind of a blur, and I don't even remember part of it." He then smiled at the Hyuuga. "But it's nice that you are here Hinata. It feels good to have someone I can talk to."

Hinata blushed heavily and muttered something inaudible into her chest for a moment before speaking to Naruto again. "That's good. But I need to draw some blood to see if anything was put in you."

Naruto panicked upon seeing the needle, remembering all the various drugs he had been pumped and shot up with. "Please Hinata, there is no need to do that."

Hinata gently put her hand on his. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun, but if I don't then someone else will have to. I promise I'll have it painless for you. I can't do much, but let me care for you."

_'She talks like caring for me is something she enjoys.'_ Naruto told himself, confused. _'She's a nice person so I guess she likes helping people.'_ He then gulped. "Okay Hinata, if you can make it not hurt then sure, I trust you."

_'He trusts me!'_ Hinata happily said, pleased for this small recognition from her admired one.

Hinata prepared for this by putting on some latex gloves then taking a sterilized needle and a glass bottle out of the nearby medical supplies cabinet kept there for unexpected immediate needs. "Naruto-kun, just look the other way and think about something comforting. That will take your mind off of this."

"Can't you just use some kind of numbing jutsu to stop me from feeling pain?" The whiskered blonde asked.

"I would if I could, but I don't know any. I could hit a few points to do the same thing, but it would affect circulation and risk compromising the results." Hinata confessed, sounding empathetic for him. "It'll be ok Naruto-kun, I would never ever hurt you or take pleasure in you being unhappy."

_'I wish Sakura-chan had the same attitude.'_ Naruto thought without realizing it. He felt the needle go in and it freaked him out to know that. He could barely move except for clenching his eyes and teeth, trying his hardest to think of anything else.

"There, all done Naruto-kun." Hinata told him, whispering into his ear in an effort to soothe him.

It worked. Naruto opened his eyes and saw she was now injecting his withdrawn blood from the needle into the glass vial for future diagnosis. _'That... wasn't so bad. Most of the time doctors tell me as a ninja I shouldn't be worried over a simple needle. But she understood that I just don't like needles. Weird or not, she's one of the most helpful people I know.'_

Without realizing it, Naruto spoke. "Thanks Hinata. You're a good person. And you're really pretty too." Without realizing what he had said until after it had slipped out of his mouth.

Caught completely by surprise from the compliment, Hinata gasped and accidentally dropped the glass bottle to the floor, shattering and spilling all of Naruto's blood. "Uh oh." She bent down to gather up the pieces.

"I'm sorry Hinata. I didn't mean to make you drop it." The blonde apologized.

Hinata blushed but avoided eye contact. "I-it's o-okay Naruto-kun. Tha-thank you, and th-this was my fault, not ours. The ba-Ouch!"

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, worried and trying to sit up.

Hinata was gripping her fingers. "I'm okay. I j-just cut my finger on one of these pieces." She showed the tip of her right index finger had a cut right through the latex and was bleeding a bit.

"Does it hurt?" Naruto asked.

"It just stings a bit. I'll be fine." Hinata reassured him. "The only problem is someone will have to take some more blood later."

Naruto groaned. "Great, more needles."

Neither of them knew it or had any way to know it, but this marked the beginning of a turning point for them both.


	2. Chapter 2

Naruto spent eight days in the hospital recovering from the ordeal of his capture. He would have left earlier, thanks to his incredible healing rate (due to the return of the chakra flow from the Kyuubi and maybe the Uzumaki longevity he unknowingly inherited from his mother). But, Tsunade insisted that he stay and get some rest. And for once he was not completely against having some downtime, even if it meant spending said downtime in a hospital of all places.

It was on his fourth day in recovery that he was allowed to have visitors, and he had a lot of them. Ino brought him a bunch of flowers from her family's shop, choosing various ones that symbolized a quick recovery and long health. Sakura even brought him some homemade cookies that tasted terrific, although he was a bit more interested in the container of ramen Choji had snuck in for him, both of them agreeing that hospital food was horrible for recovery. The doctors could say the nutrition was ideal for the patient but the taste always negated it. Tenten even showed him up and presented him with a pack of newly made and sharpened kunai's from her family's weapon store. That would be helpful since he lost all his old ones on that nightmare of a mission.

Others came too, such as Neji, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Lee. The bushy-browed ninja had tried to get Naruto to join him in a thousand push-ups. He kept claiming that 'the eternal flames of youth can only be revived through intense training and practice'. The bushy-browed ninja had to be taken out of the room before he forced Naruto into his inhumane exercise. Sometimes it was harder to tell who had more energy, Lee or Naruto.

Even Kakashi paid a visit and said it was good to see Naruto back, alive and well. "I knew you would be coming back. You're too stubborn to die." The Copycat Ninja said as he patted the blonde on the shoulder.

Yes, all of his friends came to visit him. And while he liked seeing all of them, there was one that Naruto focused on above all others, Hinata. He didn't know why though. His first guess was that she was the first he saw and the one who spent the most time with him, but somehow that just didn't quite cover it all.

It wasn't like Hinata did anything spectacular when she visited. She conversed, played a few games with him, and shared a few academy and mission memories. Just liked all his visitors did in their visits. Sure, she was the first and the most frequent of them all, her excuse being she was asked to check up on him regularly for Tsunade. But overall she was just... herself.

Naruto hadn't been able to figure out why thoughts of her kept coming to him, but he had noticed certain things about her. She looked like she had matured the most out of all his friends. Not to say the rest looked immature, but to him Sakura, Neji, Lee, Tenten, Shikamaru, Kiba, Shino, Ino, and Chouji all sort of looked like taller versions of their genin selves with slightly different outfits. Hinata looked like she had changed the most. Her hair was longer, her body was more womanly, her chuunin rank proved her self-esteem was no longer on a teeter, and her ensemble didn't look like she had been wearing it for years. Her stutter had also decreased and she didn't act like she had difficulty giving him eye contact regularly anymore.

And for some reason, he liked that. He liked that a lot.

Finally, the day came when Naruto could leave the hospital. And boy was he happy.

He was more than happy to get out of the hospital bed, which apart from his room, he had been confined in. He was also grateful to wear his normal clothes, although he was a bit saddened to learn his favorite jacket had been torn and ripped beyond repair, but he could always get a new one.

But of course, there was always some element to put a damper on his good feelings, and that element was Tsunade. She walked with Naruto down the hall of the hospital, like a mother hen.

"Remember Naruto, I want you to avoid strenuous training and only train with company, and if they ask you to stop, you stop. After four days, if nothing goes wrong you can resume training at your own pace, and after five days if you're considered clear you can be eligible for mission work again. You'll start off lightly though as a formality just to warn you." Tsunade advised him.

"I will Baa-chan." The blonde replied, sounding like he wasn't completely paying attention, which he wasn't. His main thought of focus was going out to get some real food. Food that did not taste like it had already been digested.

Resisting the urge to smack him on the head in frustration, Tsunade continued. "Also Naruto, two things. I've asked Hinata to check up on you twice a day, once in the morning before lunchtime and again in the evening. If she gets called on a mission soon you come to me or Shizune. This is merely another formality to ensure there is no residual damage to your body."

"Makes sense." Naruto said, his first thought was to go down and get about a dozen bowls of beef ramen.

"The other thing is I've asked the Ichiraku's to not serve you any ramen until further notice." Tsunade added, knowing _this_ would be a bombshell.

The thoughts of noodles cracked and shattered in Naruto's mind.

"WHAT?" Naruto shouted, causing a few doctors and nurses to stop and stare, and even some patients peeked from outside their rooms, to see Naruto confront his grandmother figure. "HOW COULD YOU-?"

"QUIET NARUTO!" Tsunade shouted, silencing him albeit briefly and then glaring at the onlookers, her eyes saying very clearly 'Piss off', which they quickly did. In one case quite literally. She then turned her attention back to the boy. "Because we don't know what all happened to you, we can't risk your body getting worse due to being overworked or improper diet. I know you love ramen, but do you love it enough to really risk putting yourself back in here in a day or two?" To her horror and irritation, the whiskered boy looked like he was seriously unable to answer that question. "Naruto, as your Hokage I'm ordering you to not eat any ramen at all. I've got a list of approved meal suggestions for you and I will ask Hinata to confirm or deny if you've deviated from the list for even so much as a candy bar. If you disappoint me on this, I swear your punishment will make chasing the Daimyo's cat Tora look like a privilege."

"Yeah right. Nothing could do that." Naruto said, disbelieving.

"Trust me Naruto, no matter how annoying a job may be, there's _always_ something worse to do. And you don't want to find out what that is, so just stick to the list for four days and you'll be alright. After that, you can eat your normal diet for all I care, as long as you don't try to compensate for any missed days. I do not need you fat anymore than I need you unhealthy."

"Alright Baa-chan, alright. And thanks for caring for me. As irritating as it is sometimes, it's still nice to know you care." He told her, making her feel awkward but flattered.

"Now get out of here and try not to do anything stupid." She told him in a friendly way,

* * *

><p>"Here you go Naruto, one bowl of beef ramen." Ayame said with a smile as she set the food down in front of the literally drooling blonde.<p>

"Thanks Ayame-neechan, you truly are the best." Naruto said in his most humble and thankful voice.

The brown-haired woman giggled. "Oh you." She said as she walked away.

Naruto snickered as he shoveled the food into his mouth at a rapid speed.

_"Stupid Baa-chan, like I would really not eat ramen. The thought of this stuff is what partly kept me going while being in that hellhole."_ Naruto thought in between mouthfuls.

And now that he had a chance to really think about it, what did happen there?

He could remember everything up to where that bastard doctor stuck him with a needle, at least the first time he actually knew it was happening, but beyond that everything else was blank. He had no memory of escaping, nor any memory of how all of that blood got on his clothing or whose blood it was.

Post-traumatic amnesia, that is what Tsunade had called it. So terrible was his experience that his mind simply refused to let him remember what had occurred. Like it forgot on purpose for the sake of maintaining his own sanity. But... if that was true, then why could he remember all of those horrid experiments, but nothing else afterwards?

Suddenly, very suddenly in fact, Naruto felt a sharp pain go thru his head. "ARGHHH!" He yelled as he gripped his head.

"Naruto?" Ayame said as she rushed over to him. "Are you alright?" She asked, her voice filled with worry while her mind was filled with thoughts of calling the hospital for the ambulance version of medic nins.

And then, as quickly as it had come, the throbbing pain just vanished, and Naruto let out a sigh of relief as he sat up.

"Yeah… yeah I'm fine. Just… just a bad headache for a moment there." He said as he smiled. "Uhhh, you know what… I think I'm just gonna go home." He put some money on the counter and walked away, vanishing into the crowd.

As she was picking up the money, Ayame looked into Naruto's bowl and gasped in surprise. There was still ramen left in it.

Naruto, never, ever, not once in all the times he had come here, had left a bowl unfinished. Not even so much as half a single noodle remained when he left. An otherwise act seemed nearly unthinkable in her mind.

"He must really be sick." Ayame said absently, still staring at the unfinished ramen.

* * *

><p>Naruto was walking down the streets, too much on his mind for even him to be aware he didn't finish his ramen. His thought process revolved around two key questions: What happened to him, and would he be able to be an effective ninja again?<p>

_'It's not like anyone really thought I was that great before, so what if I've gotten worse? What if I can't even do a rasengan anymore?'_ The more he thought about it, the more worried he got. _'I better go find a private place to go practice in. I need to know now.'_

Naruto then ran to where Team 7 usually got together while they waited for Kakashi to show up. His worry was momentarily swept aside by the nostalgia of better, naiver times and the misery of Sasuke's absence. Although right then, Naruto also felt anger on that subject, and not for the first time.

_'Dammit Sasuke, what the fuck were you thinking? You had it all here, top-notch training, girls that want to hug you instead of hit you, memories of your parents, everything every orphan dreams of, and you had the nerve to say it wasn't good enough for you? Like you deserved better? Do you hate Itachi so much that his death is more important than your life? Someone should knock some sense into you with a sledgehammer.'_

He came to a stop and looked at a training post usually meant for receiving punches and kicks. _'Good enough target to test my rasengan on.'_ He created a single shadow clone._'Good, I can still do that.'_ Though he felt a bit weary, he ignored it and the two tried to create a rasengan. It started slower than normal, and Naruto felt like he had to put in a lot more chakra than normal just to get it started.

After a while without success, Naruto stopped and the clone dispelled. He sighed heavily and sat down on the ground. "Dammit, what's wrong with me? Am I just out of practice, or did... that monster do this? Maybe I should..."

He stopped, as if words were lost to him, and settled for a sigh and look at the sky. "Baa-chan will kill me if she heard I did anything else. I should just get home and... be bored being alone, as always. Hey, maybe a friend will stop by today for once." He got back to his feet and laughed without mirth. "Yeah right, why would they start now? Not like anyone ever did before when I was hurt, or even when I came back after being gone for three years. Tonight's going to be no different."

He didn't know why he was thinking this, and he didn't catch the amount of irritation and hurt in his own voice as he said it, but he was glad no one was around to hear it so he wouldn't take his frustration out on them.

* * *

><p>Night seemed to fall a lot quicker that day. After the sun had set and all the people had gotten off the streets, there was a silence in the village. A silence that felt unsettling, even for ninja.<p>

And in his apartment, Naruto twisted and turned on his futon, his covers had been thrown off of his a while ago. "No… no… stop it… get away from me. No… I am not… I won't… LEAVE ME ALONE!" He shouted, and suddenly he sat upright, wide awake.

Sweat dripped from his face, he felt so hot, and yet his body was shivering like he was freezing. He quickly wiped the sweat off and his arms and legs, trying to chase the shivers away. After a moment or two the feeling vanished and he relaxed.

"Just a dream, just a bad dream." He told himself as he took in a few deep breaths of air, it felt cool and sweet to his lungs. However that feeling soon faded, as he took in his next breath, he felt himself gag. He could taste something vile in his mouth. He was going to throw up.

Jumping up from the ground, he rushed over to the bathroom, barely having time to flip on the lights, when he fell in front of the toilet and just emptied his stomach. It came up as yellow bile, it looked like paste with bits of the ramen he had early stuck to it. And while he normally had a strong stomach, the sight of this made him vomit again. He remained there for several minutes, coughing and spitting up any remainder of the vomit from his mouth. He slowly stood up from the ground, feeling kind of weak in his legs, it felt like they were vibrating from the inside.

After some test steps, to make sure he was not going to fall over, he walked to the sink where he turned on the faucet. He splashed the cold and refreshing water on his face, and actually felt a lot better.

"Guess Baa-chan was right, I should not have eaten that ramen. Damn you noodles for being so tasty and delicious." He said with a dry laugh as he splashed more water on his face.

Picking up a towel he wiped his face. Pressing the soft cotton against his skin for a moment to absorb all the water, he then pulled it away and looked at himself in the mirror. What was staring back at him made Naruto jump in surprise

It was him, but it was not him. The Naruto in the mirror had black eyes with red pupils, and a cruel smirk on his face. Naruto stood there for a moment, looking at his reflection, which suddenly lunged out from the mirror and grabbed him by his tee-shirt.

"Time to die." The mirror Naruto sneered as a kunai appeared in his free hand, which he drew back, ready to stab the real Naruto.

"NOOOO!" Naruto yelled as he sat up on his futon. He looked around wildly. There was no other Naruto coming out of the mirror, he was by himself.

"Another dream? I dreamed I woke up and did all that?" He asked himself, wondering how he could be back in bed. "No, I still taste bile, and it's looking a little lighter outside. I... must have blacked out again."

He laid back on his futon, looking up at his blank ceiling, thinking he must have hallucinated the whole evil twin jumping out from the mirror thing.

"If I ever see that Okaru bastard again, I'll slaughter him." He said before he realized just what he had said. "No, then I'd be worse than him. I should... capture him so the Hokage can kil... _punish_ him. Damn, what's wrong with me?" He said as he face palmed himself, "It's not right to wish death on someone like this, even if they deserve it. Ero-sennin always said you should kill only because you have to, not because you want to."

And yet despite his claims, deep down Naruto still hoped the sadistic mad scientist who had tortured him would be killed in a painful manner.

And while he drifted off back into a hazy sleep, a smile formed on his face at the idea of that happening.

* * *

><p><em>'I can't believe I actually get to come to Naruto-kun's house each day for a little while.'<em> Hinata told herself, trying to calm her beating heart as she walked up the stairs to his door. But to her this was a fantasy come true. How long she had wanted to come to Naruto's place.

Well, she had been to his place before, never inside of it though, just looking inside of it with her Byakugan. To watch Naruto, but she did not do it to be perverted or creepy, she just wanted to watch him.

Yesterday Tsunade had tried to give the Hyuuga heiress his address, but Hinata told the Hokage she already knew it.

She reached her door and rose her hand to knock, but stopped herself. _'Calm down girl, calm down. You can do this. He needs you, and he does like your company. You have nothing to be afraid of.'_ With that, she made herself knock. "Naruto-kun?"

It took a while longer than she expected, but he did answer the door. "Hinata?"

"Naruto-kun?" She asked once she saw him. "You look... unwell."

It was true but a big understatement. He looked terrible. There were bags under his eyes like he hadn't slept in weeks, even though he had spent the past few days resting. His hair was completely disarrayed rather than it's usual spiky manner, and he was slightly pale. Not only that, he stood like his legs couldn't really support his weight right then, since he was leaned against the door.

"I feel as bad as I look." He told her, sounding better than he looked at least. "I couldn't really sleep and I kept throwing up every time I tried to sleep. But I think the worst is over, I had just fallen back asleep about an hour ago" he said as he rubbed his tired eyes.

"Ma-maybe we should get you back to the hospital." Hinata suggested, knowing he wouldn't like it.

"Could we wait just a little bit first? See if I get better on my own first?" Naruto asked.

Although the Hokage had told her to bring Naruto back to the hospital immediately if there were any problems, Hinata slowly nodded. "We can try. But please Naruto-kun, if it gets worse, let me know so we can get you proper help."

He nodded and wobbled, like his legs were giving out. Hinata rushed forward and caught him, and his body slumped onto her own. She blushed heavily, but the seriousness of the situation forced her to remain erect so they both didn't collapse on the ground. _'He's so warm, almost burning up, and lighter than I expected. He needs some proper rest.'_

She carried him to his couch and set him down, making sure he was on his back. She looked at him with much sympathy and concern, watching him drift into unconsciousness._'I'm glad I didn't have any plans for today. I'd probably have to cancel them. Naruto-kun needs me more, and for longer than just a few minutes. I should wait until he wakes up at least.'_

Of course, other than training and volunteer work at the hospital, Hinata never had any real plans.

It was then Hinata noticed how disarrayed everything was in Naruto's apartment, and that made her frown. _'No wonder he got sick again, if this is the condition he is living in.'_

With nothing else to do, Hinata started cleaning up Naruto's apartment little by little, keeping her senses open for any responses from Naruto. She started with the living room, clearing dust from the walls and corners, trying not to disrupt the way he had things arranged. It was his home after all, not hers.

About four hours later, between lunch and dinner time, Naruto finally woke up. "Huh? What happened?" He asked as he rubbed his eyes, unable to remember much.

"Naruto-kun? Are you alright?"

"Hinata?" He asked, his eyes still not focusing. _'Oh yeah, she came over to see if I was improving or not. How long was I out?'_ He cleared his throat. "What time is it?"

"Late afternoon but not evening. Are you feeling okay?"

"About a thousand times better than I did when I first woke up. I didn't even have nightmares this time." He said, indeed sounding like he had a lot more energy.

"That's good." Hinata said.

Naruto stretched and yawned. "Were you here this whole time?"

Hinata nodded. "I didn't want to leave you... in case anything happened. I tried to keep you from overheating and I kept the noise down, since you had a fever and were so exhausted."

"Thank you Hinata. You're so much better than the hospital."

The white-eyed girl blushed under his praise. "Oh I-I'm not th-that good. Sakura and Ino are much better than me. They were actually trained to be medics. I just used basic first aid and common sense."

"At least you have common sense. Ero-sannin once told me most people don't." Naruto commented.

"Sadly that's true." Hinata commented as well. She then reached out and felt his forehead, checking for a fever. _'How ironic, for once I'm checking him for a fever because he's the one who's red.'_ She thought, finding the role reversal funny. "You still feel a little warm, so lay down and I'll bring you some water."

"Thanks Hinata." He said as he lay back down on his couch.

He watched her intently as she walked over to the sink and filled a glass of water. Her every moment was so graceful, almost fluid.

Naruto felt his heart begin to beat a little faster, and suddenly everything else around him appeared to move slower. All he could focus on was Hinata.

He could see every inch of her perfect figure, so fit and firm.

He could smell the aroma coming from her, lavender, with just a bit of cinnamon mixed in it.

And he could her, he could hear her heart beat… it seemed to nearly be in perfect rhythm with his own. He could hear the blood pumping through her-

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked. The blonde suddenly snapped back into reality. Hinata was standing right above him with a glass of water in her hand. "Are you alright? Do you feel sick again?" She asked, very worried.

Naruto quickly shook his head and smiled. "No, no I just uhh dozed off a bit and was staring into space."

Hinata stared at him for a moment, and then she offered him the glass of water, which he took and drank greedily.

Afterwards, the two of them sat together and talked for a while, starting off with small things and then it grew into deeper conversation. The time actually got away from them. Hinata was actually halfway into how she had been taking extra training sessions when she looked out the window and saw how dark it had gotten.

"Oh no." She said as she stood up. "It is so late. I am sorry Naruto, I did not mean to keep you up for this long." She said, looking flustered.

Naruto actually chuckled. "You're fine Hinata, actually I think talking and chatting with you has helped me out a lot better than rest ever could."

Hinata felt a warm blush begin to spread on her own face. She quickly looked away so Naruto could not see it.

"I… I umm well I should get going. You… you do still need your rest. And I need to get home." She said as she began to move towards the door.

"Okay… but uh Hinata?" Naruto called, quickly before she could open the door.

The Hyuuga paused. "Y-yes?" She asked, turning her head to look at him.

"I, well if I am feeling better tomorrow, I was wondering, if maybe you wanted to hang out. Not just to watch me in case I get sick, but to just… you know, hang out and spend time with me."

The blush quickly returned to Hinata's face, and she would swear that her heart actually skipped a beat.

_'A date? He just asked me out on a date!' _She screamed in her mind with pure utter joy. Although she knew that most other people would not have considered his request an offer for a date. But still-

"Of course Naruto, I would lo- like that very much." She said, catching herself before she said 'love'. She did not want to come off like that just yet.

Naruto smiled happily, mentally thanking Kami-sama for Hinata saying yes. "Great. Awesome. Can you show up about the same time tomorrow?"

Hinata nodded quickly, maybe too quickly. "Yes, of course. No problem. Well, bye." She said, quickly closing the door behind her. And outside his apartment, she jumped up and down and giggled like a girl who had just gotten a pony for her birthday. She even pinched herself a few times to make sure she had not fallen asleep and was dreaming all of this. When she was sure, she walked down the stairs and headed back to the Hyuuga estate. Feeling happier then she had ever felt before.

Meanwhile Naruto, he laid back down on his futon, pulling his covers up tight against him. He quickly drifted off to sleep.

And for the first time in what felt like forever, it was a calm and blissful sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, the sun was shining and the weather was glorious, not a cloud in the sky. When Naruto woke up he felt AMAZING. He had no creepy weird dreams, his stomach no long felt like hurling the smallest thing he ate, and he no longer felt weak and feeble. Quite the contrary, he felt like his whole body was bursting with energy.

"Pfff, no ramen or exercise, yeah right. All I needed was a good night's sleep." Naruto said as he stretched like he normally did in the morning, only he found that his muscles were not sore or stiff at all, he felt very limber.

It was then that he remembered. _'Hinata is coming over later.' _

He had to get ready.

"Okay, I need a shower, cause I haven't had one in two days. I need to get dressed and-" His stomach grumbled. "I need to eat."

After downing a quick bowl of dry cereal, dry because the milk in his fridge smelled like it had gone bad and he still remembered what happened the last time he had milk less than fresh, Naruto got into his shower.

The hot water felt great on him, he could actually feel all of the muck, grime, and grossness of his sickness just being rinsed off of him.

It felt good, really good; nice warm-

_Ice cold water, they were dunking him down in the freezing tub again. He raged and swore at the grinning scientists who scribbled notes on their pads. The water, with chunks of ice floating on top of it, enveloped him. It was so cold, so dark…_

**_'POP'_**

Naruto snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the loud audible popping sound. He looked down at his hand, and saw that he had been squeezing the shampoo bottle so hard it had actually burst open, with the cap now lying on the floor and soap dripping down his hand.

He quickly cleaned that up and turned off the shower. Stepping out into the steam-filled room, he wrapped a towel around his waist and took a deep breath.

"Kami, I gotta stop zoning out like that, it can't be good for me." He said as he walked over to the mirror and wiped the steam of it so he could look at his face. Naruto stared at his reflection for a moment, half-expecting for it to suddenly change like it did the other night. It didn't, and a few good blinks and pinches to make sure he was not dreaming again, he was satisfied and started to brush his teeth.

But he then heard something, someone was at his door.

* * *

><p>Hinata had walking on a cloud to Naruto's apartment, certain this was going to be perhaps the happiest day of her life.<p>

She had gotten herself all prepared and set in the mood. Not even the disapproving glare from her father at her wearing of a purple and white summer dress and sandals could spoil the glee that filled her.

_'You have to keep it calm and cool.' _She remind herself. '_If you come on too strong, it will make you seem like some sort of freak. You are closer now to your goal then you have been in eight years, so don't blow it. You can't allow yourself to become overexcited and-'_

The door opened and Naruto stood there, half-naked with his torso showing, and only a towel hiding everything else. There was a little light toothpaste dribble coming out the left side of his lips that he was unaware of.

Hinata nearly collapsed right then and there, and if she had, a blissful smile would have been on her face. But she kept herself standing with nothing but sheer willpower.

"Oh hi Hinata, sorry I did not expect you this early." Naruto said, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was without his clothes.

Hinata kept her eyes on Naruto's face, rather than his smooth and seemingly sculpted muscles. "I… I can… come b-back later. If this is a b-bad time f-f-for you." She said, slipping back into her stuttering, sounding like she was a child again.

"No." Naruto said abruptly, not wanting her to leave, but realized how quick he had been and tried again. "I mean, no please. If you would come in you can. I will only be a minute. I just need to get dressed." He said as he gestured for her to come inside.

She nodded and followed as he sneaked away into his room for privacy. _'You know, this would be a great opportunity to see if he...'_ Hinata thought. _'No, don't. You only saw it those times years ago because it's just a consequence of having the byakugan. You shouldn't peep at people like that. Even if they do have very nice bodies and body parts that could make your own feel...'_ She trailed off while rubbing her thighs together lightly.

"You okay Hinata?" Naruto asked seeing her squirm in a weird way to him when he came out fully dressed, although without his jacket he felt completely naked.

The pale-eyed girl snapped out of her perverse trance and stood up immediately. "Fine! Everything's fine!" She declared in a high pitch, as if she briefly couldn't control her own voice.

"Okay then. What do you think we should do?" He asked.

"I think... some fresh air and being around people might be good for... keeping anything from happening." Hinata told him, not sure exactly which one of them she was suggesting this for.

Naruto smiled and opened the door. "Sounds good to me. You coming?"

She nodded and followed, and surprised herself by taking his hand in her own along the way.

* * *

><p>"What would you like to do Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked as they later walked around the park. <em>'If we go anywhere to eat or train together, or even look around for the fun of it, this could count as a first date.'<em> She thought with excitement.

"Well, I would like to stop by Ichiraku's to talk to them and let them know I'm okay, and maybe get a bite to eat too." '_Although that is probably not the best thing I could do after what happened the other night.' _"Then I'd like to find a spot to work out and see if I can handle it. After that, I think I want to just relax and maybe..." He got a little red here. "If you want I'll let you decide that part since you're helping me so much."

Hinata smiled, but on the inside she was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "That sounds nice. I'm happy to have the chance to spend a day with you like this."

"Watching over me waiting to see if I collapse or not?" Naruto asked, confused.

Hinata shook her head. "No, just you and me spending time together enjoying yourself. I've..." Now she looked red. "Promise not to laugh?"

"Sure. Why would I?"

"Naruto-kun, I've... I've..." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. _'Just say it already dammit.'_ She then opened her eyes and looked firmly yet compassionately at the whiskered blonde. "I've always wanted to do something like a date with you."

Naruto stopped in his tracks. "Really? You wanted to date me?" She nodded. "Why me? Why not someone... well, better?"

"Who's better than you?"

"Ummm... Kiba?" Naruto ventured, saying the first name he could think of she would recognize.

"Kiba is more like a very good friend but he also smells like a wet dog."

"Alright, what about Shino?"

"I can't remember _ever_ seeing him being slightly interested in dating anyone. And also he is a little creepy in how he acts like a machine most of the time."

"Okay hold on." Naruto said as he tried to think of someone else. "What about… Lee?" They both stopped for a moment, staring at each other and then burst out laughing at the very idea. "But seriously though, why me? I mean, I am not the greatest person in the world. In fact according to most I'm practically one of the worst. Many have called me a troublemaker, a baka, and-"

"-a kind and funny person. Who never gives up no matter how high the odds are stacked against him, and an extremely loyal friend. That is who you are. And anyone who wouldn't like that is someone I wouldn't like." Hinata finished for him with a smile.

The blonde was awestruck; he couldn't remember anyone praising him like this, not even Iruka or Jiraiya. Usually the kind of praise he got was best summarized as 'Good job', not 'You're a good person'. "Thanks Hinata, that means a lot to me." It really did.

She smiled and leaned against him, enjoying the touch of his body, she could feel the results of the three years training. "C'mon, let's go to Ichiraku's, but I'm not letting you eat ramen."

"But-" He stared at her, giving her puppy dog eyes, thinking that this would get her for sure.

She stared at him for a moment, and for a second, it looked like she was about to falter and give in, but then she shook her head. "Sorry Naruto-kun, I was given specific instructions, no ramen for you whatsoever."

"Aw, you're too cruel." He said with a (probably) fake whimper.

Hinata shook her head and smiled. "You know, there are other foods out there besides ramen."

Naruto had a mock-surprised look on his face. "Really? When did that happen?"

They both laughed and headed off for the restaurant.

As they were walking away, two other park dwellers, Sakura and Ino, watched the two of them leave with a great level of interest.

"Oh my Kami… is that Naruto and Hinata? Together?" Ino said with complete disbelief.

"Are they dating now or something?" Sakura asked, she too was trying to wrap her mind around this phenomenon.

"Wow. So who do you think asked the other?" Ino inquired.

"It had to be Hinata. Naruto only asks me out." Sakura said.

"I'm not sure about that Forehead. I mean, it has been close to three years. Maybe he moved on. Besides, if he was that dedicated to you, then he wouldn't be on a date with her in the first place now would he?"

Sakura frowned, annoyed but not angered. "What are you saying? I'm not good enough for him anymore?"

"What do you care? When was he ever good enough for you in the first place?" Ino calmly yet firmly countered.

"Don't go there Pig. Besides, I might have accepted someday."

Ino didn't look convinced. "Oh yeah? When?"

Sakura opened her mouth to answer but no sound came from it.

Ino rolled her eyes. "That's what I thought."

* * *

><p>Lunch was going pretty well. Since Naruto couldn't have ramen he ordered a plate of naruto (fishcakes) and Hinata ordered a bowl of soup. She knew that if she ate ramen in front of him right now it would almost legally qualify as cruel and unusual. As they ate the two of them were chatting lightly.<p>

"So how did the training go with Jiraiya-sama?" Hinata asked eagerly, knowing that if Sakura had learned so much from Tsunade, surely Naruto had learned a great deal from the other sannin.

Naruto smiled. "Pretty good. Despite how he acts sometimes, Ero-sennin is a pretty good teacher."

"Ero-sennin?"

"Never mind." Naruto said, dismissing it as he ate his lunch.

Hinata watched him, noting he was looking so much better than he had before at the hospital. He no longer looked on the verge of death or for that matter acting like his happy-go-lucky self again… but still-

"Naruto… what… what exactly happened during your imprisonment? Wondering about what could possibly be happening to you all those nights made me too worried to sleep most of the time."

The blonde immediately stopped eating. "I don't want to talk about that Hinata." He said as he took a sip from his drink.

"N-Naruto-kun, it's not good t-to repress and deny what happened." The Hyuuga heiress offered.

Naruto's fingers began to twitch. "I'm not denying what happened. I simply don't want to talk about." He said flatly.

"But Naruto-kun I-"

'WHAM' Naruto hit his hand down hard on the table, his breathing heavy and his body twitching. Not only that, but his eyes were hard as steel and sharp as kunai, even though they weren't looking at anything but empty space.

"Naruto-kun, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" Hinata began but Naruto held up his hand. His breathing relaxed and his twitching stopped.

"No, no, I am sorry. I didn't mean to get angry with you. It's just… Hinata, you don't understand what they did to me. _I_ don't even fully understand what they did to me."

"Then please… help me understand. I can't understand until you tell me." Hinata said as she gently placed her hand on his. When she did, Naruto seemed to become even more relaxed, as if she had some type of power over him.

"They... they tortured me, they humiliated me. They treated me like I was some sort of damned lab rat. They stripped me of my dignity, injecting me with drugs that either put me in agony or paralyzed me."

"Oh Naruto-kun." The girl squeezed his hand tighter.

"And… they _enjoyed_ it Hinata. They enjoyed seeing me suffer, powerless to resist at all. There was a moment Hinata… a moment when I just wanted to die, for it all to end."

That horrible thought passed through the Hyuuga princess's mind, the thought of Naruto lying dead in front of her. His body cold, and his eyes blank and empty. It horrified her to the very core of her soul.

_'If Naruto-kun died… I would lay down next to him and die too.' _She thought, because she could not imagine a life in which Naruto was not there. The past three years without him was hard enough, manageable only with the knowledge he would return to her in due time. She could not go through that again with no guarantee of his return.

"But what kept me going through it all, was the thought of the village. And of all my friends, and the people I cared about. Like you." He said as he looked to Hinata, with a smile returning to his face.

Hinata could not help but blush at the compliment.

* * *

><p>After eating the two felt they needed to burn off a few calories, so Naruto and Hinata later headed for a vacant training ground. They got to one, but apparently it wasn't really vacant as claimed. Neji and Tenten were training there.<p>

"Hi Neji Nii-san, Tenten-san." Hinata said when she saw them sparring.

The two stopped and looked over. Tenten smiled and waved. "Hey Hinata, Naruto. So they finally let you out eh?"

"Yeah, about time too. I hate being in hospitals." He said with a grin.

Tenten nodded. "Yeah me too. They're too depressing and limiting. I don't understand how Tsunade-sama could be comfortable being somewhere like that every day."

"I don't either, but I'd rather she be there than a bar or casino. At least there she's doing something good." Naruto commented with a laugh

"Be more respectful of Tsunade-sama Naruto. She's a great person and she did help you recover, although I am pretty sure she did not give you much of a choice." Tenten jokingly defended.

"Yea, but she's also the one who sent me out to get captured and tortured in the first place so I think we're even." The blonde added, with a bit more hostility then he intended and he felt a small, almost unnoticed throb in his head.

The others were surprised to hear the underlying tone in his voice. Naruto never really resented Tsunade of anything before.

Tenten looked a bit irritated at that remark. "Naruto, that wasn't Tsunade-sama's fault. She had no way of knowing what would happen to you."

Now Naruto looked more than just a bit irritated. "She _didn't_? She was well aware that people were going missing and disappearing from their homes long before she told me about it. She knew full well there was a chance it would happen to whoever she sent out. So why did she pick me? A single genin to handle something that was giving the jounin trouble? For all I know she _wanted_ me to disappear." The throbbing in his head was getting worse, so he rubbed his temple trying to soothe it.

Everyone except him and Hinata gasped, and Hinata didn't mostly because she already had such angry thoughts while he was gone. _'I know it's not true, but what other explanation is there? If she truly was opposed to him disappearing, he never would have sent him out alone.' _She then found herself also feeling resentful towards the Godaime.

Neji was the first to speak up. "Naruto, surely you don't actually believe that. For as long as I've known her Hokage-sama always has had your best interests at heart."

Naruto suddenly shifted his attention to Neji. "My best intentions? Oh really, cause if my memory serves me right, I seem to recall kicking your ass in the chūnin exams, so why the hell is everyone wearing the green vest _except_ me? I'm the only one here who fought Orochimaru himself, I'm the one who was trained by a sannin just like my teammate Sakura, I'm the one who defeated the guy who is now the Kazekage! Has the idea of promoting me even _crossed_ her sake-addled mind? I know for a fact those damn exams are not the _only_ way to promote someone! So don't fucking preach 'best intentions' to me!" He was nearly shouting now, and his head was hurting horribly.

Neji and Tenten stared at Naruto with shock. Never before had they seen their friend like this. To them the concept seemed almost impossible.

Tenten took a step forward and placed her hand on the blonde's arm. "Naruto, what's wrong with you? Why are you acting like this?" She asked, worry in her voice.

Naruto instantly recoiled from her. "Don't touched me you bitch." He spat.

The air was dead silent, even Hinata looked at Naruto with surprise.

Suddenly the headache stopped and Naruto blinked a few times, and it was then that he could see the hurt and pain on Tenten's face. She looked on the verge of tears.

Neji on the other hand seemed about ready to activate his byakugan. "How dare you?"

"I… I… didn't mean… I don't know why I..." Naruto began, his voice apologetic and confused, trying to find the right words to make up for what he had just said, but when he could not find any, he turned tail and simply ran as fast as he could go. He did not want to be anywhere near his friends, lest he say anything worse.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata shouted as she tried to go after him, but was stopped by Neji grabbing her wrist.

"Let him go Hinata-sama, something is wrong with him, and I don't like it. He needs to get his head together."

Tenten meanwhile simply stood solid in her spot, still trying to process what Naruto had just called her. Hearing that from him was like hearing that from her own brother, and it hurt just as badly.

* * *

><p>Hinata wasn't able to find Naruto for the rest of the day, and after a bit decided to let him be on his own. That night she sat in her room at the Hyuuga estate, brushing her hair in front of the mirror before she went to bed, a light smile on her face. Despite the incident with Tenten, today had been amazing. She would not have traded it for anything, but still…<p>

"Why did Naruto-kun snap at Tenten like that?" She said aloud to herself.

She knew that Naruto and Tenten had always had a pretty good friendly relationship. The two of them had been at the same orphanage until Tenten had gotten adopted. And from what Tenten had told Hinata, Naruto would often stop by the Weapons Shop to just say hi and see how things were going, and often got talked into buying a pack of kunai's by Tenten's mom.

But that moment in the training ground, the way Naruto just snapped, that didn't seem like the boy she knew. He seemed more like…

Hinata shook her head. '_No, no, no. I have to remember what Naruto-kun just went through. Being locked up, tortured, abused, he is still dealing with some traumatic feelings and Tenten just happened to catch him at a bad moment like I almost did. I am sure he will be back to normal.' _She assured herself.

Hinata set her brush down then walked over and lay down on her lavender colored bed. The moment her head touched the pillow she instantly felt very tried. Like all of the energy had just been drained from her.

Using what energy she had left, she reached over and turned off her lamp, and then slipped into sleep.

* * *

><p>"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH ME?" Naruto yelled at himself as he hit himself in the head.<p>

He was in the bathroom, back at his apartment after hours of trying to avoid anyone. The moment he had run off after yelling at Tenten his headaches had returned again, not as powerful as they had with the he had started yelling at her, but just as bad. His head felt like it was being hammered from the inside. The only thing he could do to take his mind off it was to go somewhere private and let out a little steam in the form of rasengan practice. Fortunately he at least proved he was back to normal on that aspect.

"I didn't want to yell at Tenten, I didn't mean anything that I said but... but..." His head started hurt again. "But the stupid bitch should have just minded her own business." He spat in annoyance, and then immediately covered his mouth afterwards.

_'What is wrong with me? Why am I saying these things? I don't mean them._' He tried to assure himself.

_'Or do I?'_

He shook his head. "No, of course I don't mean that. Why am I thinking about this kind of stuff? This isn't like me." He assured himself.

He then stretched the collar of his shirt. It was getting too hot in here. He turned on the sink and filled it with cold water. He closed his eyes and held his breath, and he dunked his face into the water and held it there.

The cold water felt good on his skin, he could feel the heat vanish from him and the throbbing in his head calmed down and vanished once more. He still kept his face in the water, just a moment longer, he thought. He liked this, it was cold and dark. But he didn't know why he liked it.

Soon enough he came up for air and shook the water off himself. "I need to apologize to her tomorrow. It's the right thing to do."

* * *

><p><em>They were lying on the ground, all of them dead.<em>

_She had killed them all. Their blood stained her clothing, and dripped from the kunai she had used to gut them like fish. They were so mutilated it was impossible to recognize any of the victims right away._

_"You can't have him, he's mine, and he will always be mine." She sneered at the corpses, faces that should have been recognizable to her but no longer were thanks to massive injuries and death masks made of blood._

_There was only one left now, one left to slaughter. She turned around to see Sakura cowering in corner, covered in the blood of the fallen ones._

_"Now it's your turn you little slut. And I have special plans for you. Special, special plans." She said as she advanced upon the girl, kunai drawn back for one final kill._

Hinata sat up with a start, breathing heavily as she clutched the blanket against her body. "What was that?" She turned to look out her window as if the answer was outside. "I've never had a nightmare like that before."

She ran her hand across her brow; she instantly withdrew it when she felt how sweaty she was.

"Hot? When did it get this hot?" She asked herself before opening the window to her room. When she finished but before she could take her hands off the sill, a pair of hands attached to someone she couldn't see suddenly shot out at her like snakes and grabbed her throat.

Panicked but unable to scream, Hinata immediately tried to pry these strange hands off her neck. But they had a grip that could best be described as mechanical, and if anything they were tightening. Gasping for breath Hinata slipped and fell backwards, dragging her strangler down with her. Somehow this attacker came thru the open window as if the walls around it didn't even exist, like a ghost going thru the window instead of a person. And in the light, Hinata could see just who it was.

Sakura, covered in blood and looking like a madwoman. Like she had just stepped out of Hinata's nightmare.

"So, you got special special plans for me? Like a little mouse like you could possibly do jack-shit to me. I was trained by the hokage herself, and all I had to do to get that privilege was ask for it. You, the one everyone praises for her 'special' balms, wasn't even considered an option as apprentice, and you know why? Because you're too afraid to ask, and you know you're not good enough for it like I am. Just like how you're not good enough to lead your clan or be Naruto's girlfriend. Face it bitch, you're a nobody, and to Naruto you're just eye candy for when he's not near me, the one he actually wants."

Hinata should have been about to lose consciousness, but against all logic she was still coherent. _'I can't make this bitch let go the direct way, so I'll try an indirect way.'_ Readying a juuken strike, Hinata thrust both her hands up, intending to hit some tenketsu and weaken her grip at least. But, as if against her will, her hands actually went up and hit Sakura in both her eyes, impaling him with ease.

Sakura now let go and pulled back, screaming in pain and bleeding out her eyes.

"Who's the nobody now?" Smiling victoriously, Hinata sat up right away, but immediately Sakura disappeared into thin air. And if that wasn't weird enough, Hinata wasn't on the floor of her room, but back on her bed under the covers, her smile gone. "Wait, what in the world...?" She looked at her hands and saw no blood on her fingers, then carefully felt her neck and didn't find any tender spots. "Was I still dreaming?"

She was too preoccupied with that had just happened to notice that her window was open.

* * *

><p>The next morning Tenten was up early like she always was, polishing a new set of shuriken's that were to be put on display. When she had finished, she gently tapped one of the blade points with her finger, and instantly withdrew it. Perfectly sharpened, she smiled happily and put it into the display case.<p>

"Umm… hey Tenten." Naruto's voice cautiously said from behind her.

The brunette kunoichi paused what she was doing, but did not look behind her.

"Listen, I… I am so sorry for yesterday. I didn't mean it, and I am a bastard for what I said. I almost even snapped at Hinata yesterday too when she brought up a sore subject. Dammit, I feel like someone else is controlling my emotions sometimes. Why else would I snap at the two nicest girls I know?"

Tenten still didn't turn around, so Naruto continued his apology. "I was jealous, I admit it. I'm jealous of all you guys because you're all chūnin and I am still a pathetic loser genin even after being trained by a sannin. All because no one in this village has any faith in me. But despite that, I am happy for all of you, because you're my friends even if you all don't think the same way about me."

This time Tenten did turn around and despite the ache her heart felt from both his previous insults and current self-loathing, she was smiling. "Did you stay up all night coming up with that apology?"

Naruto fake-grinned and nodded. "Yeah, but it's very sincere. Do you forgive me?"

Tenten thought about it for a minute. "I will, if you buy twelve new kunai's."

"Six."

"Eight."

"Done."

They both laughed, the incident from yesterday forgotten though Tenten worried just how deep his insecurities actually went. Naruto then began to look around the shop, while Tenten got the eight kunai together for purchase. He paused in front of a long serrated knife, well-polished and sharpened. He unconsciously picked it up and held it in his hand admiring its craftsmanship.

_"Kill her!"_

_"Slit her throat!"_

_"Make her choke on her blood!"_

_"Spill out her entrails!"_

"Naruto?" Tenten called over.

"Huh?" He asked, snapping out of his sudden lapse of thought.

"Are you alright?" The bun-haired girl asked as she walked out from behind the counter.

"Uh yeah, sorry. I've just been zoning out a lot lately."

"Huh, well maybe you should go see Tsunade-sama about that."

"Yes… I probably should." He replied. _'I'm starting to get worried about the thoughts these zone-outs are giving me.'_


	4. Chapter 4

"Man, I feel better about that. But I hope Baa-chan can stop whatever's wrong before it gets worse." Naruto said to himself as he walked down the street away from Tenten's place, fresh kunais in his pouch now.

"Tenten's right, I need to see a doctor for this. This is not right. Nightmares, hallucinations, bad attitude, and blood? All at random times? I need this problem fixed, even if I got to be in that damn hospital again. I'd rather that than hurting my friends again like Tenten."

He then held up his right hand and looked at it, begrudgingly remembering earlier that morning and the dream he had just before he woke up.

-Flashback-

_"Tell us your name." The voice over the intercom said._

_Naruto did not answer, he would not play their game. They had stripped him of clothing and thrown him into the white room with the horrible bright lights. He had to keep his eyes shut every time out of fear of going blind._

_"Tell us your name." The voice repeated._

_"Go fuck yourselves." Naruto spat_

_There was a moment of silence and suddenly the earsplitting noise filled the room._

_"ARRRGHHHH!" Naruto screamed as he pressed his hands tightly against his ears, trying to block out that noise but failing to do so, he could still hear it. It was awful, he could feel the vibrations from the noise in even his teeth._

_The blonde fell from the chair he had been sitting in, flopping on the floor like a fish being forced to breath air. __Finally after what felt like an eternity, the noise finally stopped._

_Naruto lay on the ground for a moment, and then he finally withdrew his hands from his ears and-_

_He felt something wet in his hands._

_He took that single moment to open his eyes and he saw small speck of blood on his palms. His ears were bleeding._

_"Tell us your name." The voice said._

_"U… U… Uzumaki Naruto."_

_Then the noise started again._

* * *

><p>Naruto sat up from his futon the very second his frog alarm clock started to ring. He sat there for a moment with a dull glazed look on his eyes and then he slammed his hand down on the alarm, silencing it.<p>

"Oh Kami… what a terrible dream." He said as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. When he withdrew his hand something caught his attention.

On the palms of both his hands were dark red stains, stains that closely resembled blood.

Naruto's breath hitched for a moment when he saw the blood. He instantly reached for his ears, remembering the dream. He poked and scratched at them with his nails for a second, but upon withdrawing them he saw no dried blood.

"What the hell is going on?" He said, his voice nervous.

He threw the covers off of him and then ran straight to the bathroom. He turned the sink on HOT, grabbed a bar of soap and a washcloth, and began to rub and scrub his hands. He stood there at his sink for a good eight minutes, simply scrubbing, rinsing, and scrubbing again. The stains were gone before then, but after that he acted more like he was trying to wash away the memory of ever having them there to begin with.

Finally when he felt satisfied he dried his hands off and he then looked at himself in the mirror.

He seemed fine. The healthy pink color had come back to his skin, the lines from his eyes had vanished, even the sheen had returned to his hair. But there was something different, he just could not yet see it, although he was sure it was there.

Of course, ever since the dream of the other him coming out of the mirror, he had made sure to check his reflection every morning.

"Okay." Naruto said turning away from the mirror. "I need to go apologize to Tenten. I just hope she's not going to use me for target practice today." He said as he left the bathroom to get dressed.

-End Flashback-

Naruto took a deep breath and headed towards the Hokage Tower. "Please, let this be curable."

* * *

><p>A Hyuuga servant, who had gone to awaken Hinata, found the Hyuuga Heiress laying on floor of her bedroom, her temperature high and her pulse low.<p>

That had been two hours ago.

Now, a dozen members of the Main House family stood outside the closed door to Hinata's bedroom, their ears pressed against it trying to listen in on what was happening inside. They could not use their byakugan because special jutsus had been used to block out any unwanted viewers.

Hinata lay on her bed, propped up by pillows while a clan doctor tested her pulse rate and used his own byakugan to check her chakra flow.

Beside the doctor and Hinata, the only other people in the room were Hiashi, Neji and Hanabi. Hiashi stared down at his bedridden daughter with a disapproving look, Neji stood next to his uncle like a loyal personal guard, and Hanabi was on the other side of Hinata's bed, holding her older sisters hand tightly.

"Well?" Hiashi said with a tone of impatience. "What is wrong with her?"

The doctor deactivated his byakugan and stood up. "From what I can tell, nothing serious. It is probably just the day flu, the symptoms are all there."

"No one else has been sick though." Hiashi said, sounding like that type of person who thought they knew better than an actual doctor.

"These viruses can appear very suddenly. Personally it is good for the body, builds up the immunity so they're more resistant next time."

"If she was not already so weak she would not have gotten sick to begin with." Hiashi said coldly. He then turned away. "Thank you for your time doctor, you are dismissed."

The doctor bowed and then shuffled out of the room.

Hiashi then looked at Hanabi. "Look after your sister until she awakens. Neji, come with me." He then walked out of the room and Neji followed close behind.

As they exited the room, the clansmen immediately bowed to Hiashi and then moved along, making it seem like they had only been there for a moment. If the head of the clan thought anything of it, his lack of action showed he didn't think it worthy of reacting to.

Hiashi walked down the corridor with a slow regal grace, while Neji made sure to stay several steps behind, knowing that as a branch member he was not allowed to walk with or ahead of a main member.

"Neji, where was Hinata yesterday?" Hiashi finally asked.

The Hyuuga genius answered immediately. "She was with Uzumaki Naruto, Hiashi-sama."

"Why?"

"She was looking after him, per Hokage-sama's, as he was ill after his return from his previous mission."

"Then this explains how Hinata herself has become sick. Neji, if I teach you anything that you hold onto let it be this, Uzumaki Naruto is nothing but trouble, and he brings trouble wherever he goes."

"He is of good nature Hiashi-sama, and other then his usual pranks I have never known him to cause any serious trouble. In the past my own discord towards him was simply part of my discord towards everyone, not for any personal reason towards him. And since then I have never had a personal reason to be uncouth to him."

"It is not so much as the trouble he _has_ caused, it is instead what he _could_ cause. Despite his appearance and personality, that boy is capable of much more then he lets on."

Neji nodded. "I know that well sir. But I do not suspect it is something harmful he intends."

"Neji, I am giving you this task. Whenever Hinata goes to visit with Naruto I want you to observe from a distance what goes on between them. And then report back to me."

Neji was silent for a moment, and then nodded. "As you command Hiashi-sama."

Hiashi smiled. "As always Neji, I knew I could rely on you."

But before Hiashi could dismiss him, Neji had more to add. "But for the record, I will not do anything that interferes in her own assignment from Hokage-sama."

"And if I say otherwise?" Hiashi inquired.

Neji frowned a bit, not liking the implication. "Then you are basically ordering me to commit insubordination against the leader of Konoha, an authority higher than your own. While I am a Hyuuga, I am also a Konoha ninja as well and will not commit treason to our hokage."

Hiashi let this sink in, though he didn't look all that satisfied with it. "Very well. Just do your job." He then walked away saying no more.

* * *

><p><em>They were dancing together, a splendid elegant dance. Her head was resting on his shoulder.<em>

_And all around them, the village burned. The orange and red flames provided their light, the screams of the people as they burned was their music, and the blood that coated them was their formal wear._

**_"_**_You're so beautiful in this light." Naruto said as he gently stroked her check._

_"Mmm are you saying I am not always beautiful?" Hinata asked as she ran her finger down his blood soaked chest, bringing her finger away and licking the crimson liquid from it._

_"Of course not, you're my Hime. And I have a present just for you." He said sweetly, placing the kunai still stained with blood in her hands. He then vanished into the darkness, and then reappeared with a struggling form, one bound, gagged, and stripped bare._

_Hinata smirked cruelly, with total malice and contempt her eyes. "Well this _is_ a wonderful gift." She said, sounding like a little girl who had just been presented a pony for her birthday._

_She lifted the struggling captive up and ran the kunai down their cheek. "Well, time to die." She said as she lifted the blade up and brought it down right between the eyes of-_

"HANABI!" Hinata screamed as she sat up in her bed, awakening from the… nightmare?

"Onee-san?" Hanabi said with confusion, slightly startled when her sister has just suddenly awakened shouting her name.

Hinata looked at the younger Hyuuga and immediately hugged her tightly, then quickly patted her sister down, looking at her as if to make sure nothing had happened. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Hinata demanded, squeezing Hanabi's shoulders so tightly that the girl winced in pain.

"Yes, yes I am fine. Are you alright though?"

"I… I…" Suddenly Hinata placed her hand over mouth, she could feel something trying to force its way out of her throat.

Hanabi instantly grabbed a wastebasket and handed it to Hinata, who grabbed it away and then promptly vomited into it. As the disgusting bile exited her mouth for a single moment, Hinata thought she could taste cinnamon. When she finally emptied her stomach, Hinata set the wastebasket down next to her bed and leaned back against her pillows feeling drained.

"Onee-san, can I get you anything?" Hanabi asked, eager to help her older sister in any way.

"Water… please." Hinata asked, wanting to get the taste of vomit out of her mouth.

"Of course." Hanabi said as she stood up and left the room to get her sister a drink.

Hinata watched her go. '_How could I have such a dream? How could I have even dared to think about hurting Hanabi?' _She asked herself.

_"Because she has taken what was rightfully mine."_

_"She is father's favorite."_

_"She is going to be the next clan head instead of me."_

_"She does not deserve it. I've had to work twice as hard… she should just-"_

"NO!" Hinata cried softly as she shut her eyes to these alien thoughts that entered her mind.

She would admit, that she was often jealous of Hanabi. Her skills just seemed to come to her so naturally, whereas Hinata had to train harder than anyone else on her team in order to get as good as she got. But she had always been proud of Hanabi being able to do so well.

A memory then flashed in her mind, the memory of when Hanabi had defeated her in a sparring match in front of their father. That disapproving look on his face at the sight of his oldest daughter brought down by a mere child.

How she hated that cold look on his face. He thought he was so high and mighty he could just look down on everyone else. Even family. _Especially_ family. Hinata's hands clenched into fists as she gripped her bed sheet. How she wanted to just once have him grovel before her, press his face down in the dirt and then-

"Onee-san?" Hanabi said as she reentered the room with a glass of water

Hinata immediately came out of the dark thoughts. "Huh? Oh thank you." She said kindly as she took the offered glass and greedily drank the liquid, feeling slightly better when she emptied it. "What happened exactly?" She asked, not remembering much from last night, save her other disturbing dream.

"A servant found you on the floor. You had a temperature and your pulse was so low." Hanabi said as she took her sisters hand and held it tightly. "I thought something terrible might have happened to you."

Hinata was truly touched by Hanabi's concern. '_See, why would I ever hurt her?' _She thought to herself as she smiled inwardly. '_She loves me and I... love her.' _Right then, for some reason, she had to make herself finish that thought.

"Thank you Hanabi, I'm alright now though, I am sure it is just a 24 hour bug." She said with a smile. And then she suddenly realized. "Naruto-kun! I have to go check on Naruto-kun!" She instantly threw off her sheets and tried to climb out of her bed only to be pushed back down by Hanabi.

"Onee-san you're not going anywhere. You're sick and need to stay in bed." Hanabi said sternly.

"B… but I need to go check on Naruto-kun. I made a promise that I would." She said as she tried to sit up again, but found that this time she did not have the strength.

Hanabi stared at her sister, then took a moment to think. After a moment she nodded. "Alright, if you promise to stay here in bed… then I will go get him for you."

"You... you would do that?" The younger sister nodded. "Do you even know how to find him?"

"Of course. I learned where he lives and what he looks like in case I ever had to find him for you."

Hinata smiled. "Thanks imouto-chan."

"Now get your rest and I'll try to sneak him in here before Otou-san sees anything." Hanabi said with a smirk, thinking it might be fun to try and sneak something past her father.

* * *

><p>Tsunade was in a word surprised.<p>

Naruto has actually come into the Hokage Tower, requested a time to see her, and waited patiently. This was unlike his normal behavior of just barging into the room unannounced.

What was even more surprising was the way he acted when he actually came in. Tsunade had been expecting a usual 'What's up Baa-chan?' But instead, what she got was a respectful bow from Naruto and a "Good morning Hokage-sama."

That was where Tsunade drew the line. She immediately got up from her desk and felt Naruto's forehead. "Hmm... no fever so you're not delusional." She then checked the top of his head for any kind of lump. "And no knocks to the skull, so no brain damage." She then looked at him with a type of motherly concern. "Naruto what is wrong?"

"I… I just need to talk to you please… as both my Hokage and my doctor." He said solemnly.

"Of course." Tsunade told him, then took her place back behind her desk and he sat down in a chair. "Tell me what is wrong. You're not acting like yourself this morning."

"No, no I am not. In fact I was not acting like myself at all yesterday." Naruto said quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"I yelled at Tenten yesterday."

"You yelled at her?"

"I… I called her bitch. For no reason at all." Naruto said as he placed his head into hands.

"YOU DID WHAT?" Tsunade said, completely taken aback by such an action.

"I don't know what came over me, my head was pounding and it was like… it was like someone else was speaking through my mouth and I could not stop it." Naruto said, but he didn't look up at Tsunade.

"What conversation led to this… headache?" Tsunade asked

"It's stupid."

"I will be the judge of that."

Naruto lifted his head out of his hands and looked at Tsunade. "It… it was about the fact that all of my friends are now chūnin and I am still a genin."

Tsunade sighed and leaned back in her chair, taking a moment to think. "Naruto, it is not uncommon for people who have gone through an ordeal such as yours to suffer from outbursts of emotion. I knew several people from the last great Ninja War who would suddenly snap at the smallest of issues, like they ran out of their favorite ice-cream or suddenly broke a door."

Naruto muttered something in agreement.

"I assumed that you apologized to Tenten?" Tsunade asked.

Naruto gave a small and brief smile. "I bought eight kunai as part of the deal."

"I'm going to assume that means yes and she's not going to be angry for long. That's good. Now, as for your rank, I want you to know that I've been waiting to give you a promotion. You do seem to have most of the traits required for a chuunin and a field promotion would not be impossible. I couldn't give you one earlier because a training trip doesn't qualify on it's own. I needed to see you actually use your skills properly."

"So, what's the verdict?" Naruto asked.

"I have to deliberate with the council on this. This is just a standard procedure done to ensure that field promotions are not given out left and right."

Naruto looked nervous. "But-"

"Yes Naruto, there will be some opposition towards you." Tsunade said with a light nod of acknowledgement. "But I can promise you that it will not be overwhelming and I will not let anyone deny you a promotion based purely on one single fact. I can't promise you the promotion is a guarantee, but I will try for it and if things go well, you could be a chuunin by the end of the day."

Naruto smiled. "Really?"

"Yes, but remember I can't guarantee anything. But for now, go home and relax. You're still not ready to train back at your normal pace."

"I think I'm fine Baa-chan."

"Even so, until Hinata says otherwise you will stick to what I told you. Now go and don't get into trouble." The slug sannin told him. "Oh, before you go, how are things between you and Hinata? You getting along?"

Naruto smiled proudly and nodded. "We're getting along very nicely. At least one good thing came out of all this, and I think Hinata-chan likes this too."

"Good, now go do what else you had planned. Just don't yell at anyone else if you can help it." She told him.

Naruto left the office then the tower, eagerly thinking about what Tsunade had said. "I could become a chuunin by the end of the day." He said with a smile, thinking about how cool he would look in one of those jackets. As he walked down the street he passed by a thrift store and could see in the window a green jacket. He passed to look at it for a moment. "Hmm... if I took the sleeves off that it could show me what I'll look like wearing a chuunin vest." He thought it over then shook his head. "Naw, I'll wait for the real thing."

"Excuse me." An unknown girl's voice called to him from behind.

Looking in the reflection of the window, Naruto saw a young girl around Konohamaru's age with flat brown hair standing behind him. He turned and now could see she had a byakugan. "Yes?"

"You are Uzumaki Naruto right?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'm Hinata's sister Hyuuga Hanabi. She's not feeling too well right now and would like to see you."

"Of course. But am I even allowed at your house?" Naruto asked.

"My father just left so now's your best chance. Follow me." Hanabi said before leading him to the Hyuuga compound.

* * *

><p>Hinata laid in her bed, drifting in and out of a half-awake and half-asleep realm.<p>

She was rather afraid to go back asleep, at the idea that she might have another nightmare. But her body just felt so tired, it was hard to resist the urge of its call.

_Hinata found herself floating in a pitch black void. Somehow she could see herself, but nothing else. And she was completely naked and more than a bit cold. _

_On reflex Hinata curled up and covered herself, both to avoid exposing herself and to keep herself warm. "Where... where am I?"_

_Suddenly a fist shot out of the darkness, the person attached to it unseen past the forearm, and it struck her in the forehead. She shrieked qucikly in pain and tumbled backwards, and despite the lack of a ground, felt like she hit a floor._

_"What the...?" She asked._

_"You disgust me." Hiashi's voice was heard, making Hinata's eyes widen._

_Then a second shot shot out, striking her in the left shoulder and making her fly back again. "Failure. Failure. Failure!" This time it was Neji's voice._

_"Stop!" Hinata shouted._

_A third fist now hit her left breast hard. "You're pathetic compared to me. Compared to everyone else. You're the postergirl of pathetic." That was Hanabi's voice._

_"Please stop!" Hinata pleaded, crying, feeling so helpless._

_From there the assault just continued._

_Kiba's voice came with a punch to her right shoulder. "Even with your body you're undesirable."_

_Shino's voice came with a punch to the top of her spine. "You're the weak link in our unit."_

_Kurenai's voice came with a punch to her stomach. "You've been a complete waste of my time."_

_Sakura's voice came with a punch to her right breast. "I'm the model kunoichi. You're nothing but an eyesore."_

_Then she got a slap across her face, hitting her left cheek then her right. "I never should have had you."_

_Now Hinata opened her eyes, which were already teared up. "O-Okaa-san? No, not you too?" _

_Another double slap, followed by a kick to her groin. "Don't call me that. My daughter would make me proud, not roll over in my grave. I should do the Hyuuga a favor and make you infertile." _

_Hinata covered her ears. "SOMEBODY PLEASE MAKE THIS STOP!"_

_It looked like every fist was about to hit each target again, this time all at once. She couldn't see it with her eyes closed, but somehow she just knew that was going to happen. But all of a sudden there was a whirl of wind and screams of pain, but this time it wasn't Hinata yelling. _

_She opened her eyes and saw severed arms floating all around her before they fell down and faded into darkness. Blood spilled remained longer and fell slower, looking eerily like blood-red sakura petals. But what really had her attention was Naruto holding a kunai._

_"You okay Hime?" He asked._

_She nodded but didn't stop crying. "Na-Naruto-kun? Are you here to... to...?"_

_He then hugged her. "As long as you're with me, you're safe. Never forget that."_

_"So we'll kill you then be free to torment her all we want." A voice Hinata didn't recognize stated. She looked around and before she could see anything, Naruto's head was chopped off, blood gushing from his neck wound like a fountain._

_"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" She screamed bloody murder, literally._

_"Too bad you were too incompetent to do anything about this spoiled Hyuuga princess. Now we're free to do as we please." That same voice said, then the faces of all her previous assailants emerged from the darkness, grinning maliciously, before they started pummeling her all at once with both arms, severed ones somehow reattached._

Hinata opened her eyes and bolted upright, looking like she was silently screaming. She panted and struggled to calm her frantic heartbeat, and nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt someone's arms touch her own.

"Hinata-chan! It's okay, it was just a nightmare. You're safe now and nothing can hurt you."

Quivering, she turned her head and saw Naruto's face. Acting on instinct, she planted her face in his chest and held onto him tightly, trying to calm down.

"Hinata-chan, is something wrong?"

She shook her head. _'Nothing's wrong. Naruto-kun is here and he's not leaving me. And I'm not leaving him. Ever.'_

* * *

><p>In the meeting chamber of the Konoha Council, filled with only the shinobi side and devoid of the civilian side, what was meant to be a simple formality was becoming a major debate.<p>

"Make Uzumaki Naruto a chuunin?" Utatane Koharu said as if the idea was completely foreign.

"Yes, he meets all the requirements. He has had sufficient experience, tutelage under both Hatake Kakashi and Jiraiya, and proven himself time and time again how capable he is at handling any challenge or obstacle presented to him. In fact I would nearly recommend him for jounin status, but I will not go that far yet since he could still use a little more experience for that part." Tsunade said as she closed Naruto's folder.

The other members of the council chamber though did not seem to be in equal agreement.

Hyuuga Hiashi's face had become even colder when the topic of Naruto had been brought up. Shimura Danzō shifted slightly in his seat upon the notion of promoting Naruto in rank. And Mitokado Homura pushed his glasses a bit closer to his face and gave a small cough. The rest looked like they didn't know what to think.

Support for this decision was not high.

"Lady Hokage, while we do agree that you have made many valid points to your statement, we cannot ignore the fact of what the Uzumaki boy is." Koharu said gently.

"He is a ninja of this village, and therefore has an equal right to be promoted along with the rest of his teammates. Many of whom do not have half the experience he has." The hokage reminded her adviser.

Danzō nodded. "A true statement Hokage-sama. However, Naruto is also a jinchūriki, and as such he is the most valuable asset of this village."

"Asset? You speak of him as if he were nothing more than a weapon." Tsunade challenged, her voice hinting with anger.

Danzō immediately rephrased his statement. "All ninja are to a point weapons my lady. They serve as either the sword or the shield of their villages. But Naruto has within him the power to serve as both. Could we truly afford to lose one of such value if he were to be sent aboard on many dangerous missions? Like most chuunin are?"

"If anything he should be kept closer to Konoha, where he can be watched. Closely." Hiashi finally said.

"If that were true then he wouldn't have been on that trip with Jiraiya now would he?" Tsunade countered.

"Good point." Tsume commented.

"Not good enough I'm afraid." Homura added. "From what I've seen and heard the boy is impulsive, ignorant, brass, and overall immature."

"And when was the last time you saw him? Or heard about him?" Tsunade inquired, well aware of his answer.

"That is not the issue here."

"Councilor, answer the question or face your observation stricken from consideration. How dated is your information?" Tsunade firmly pressed.

The old man sighed. "From approximately three years ago."

Tsunade smiled victoriously. "Exactly. You're judging him based on how he _used_ to be, not how he is _now_. And I suspect some of you are letting his jinchuuriki role interfere in your professionalism."

"Even so, you must admit that is a factor here." Koharu said.

"And you must admit it is not the only factor to consider here nor the factor to base the entire decision on. Like it or not, his jinchuuriki role is not going to change anytime soon, and after fifteen years you've had more than enough time to get over it. If not, I question your ability to perform your jobs as councilors well and would move for a vote of no confidence in you."

The council took this in, though some didn't like it. Tsunade pretty much threatened them to agree with her or risk losing their positions. Even being a clan head couldn't guarantee them immunity since their seats could have representative members to take their place.

Some naturally weren't worried about this. "Why not promote him? I mean, hell the kid's done things even our jounin can't claim. Just imagine the good he can do for Konoha if we stop holding him back so much. Yes there's potential risk but there's potential gain too and I think some of us here are overlooking that." Akimichi Chouza boasted.

Not one to admit defeat gracefully, Hiashi cleared his throat. "Hokage-sama, just a moment ago you criticized councilor Mitokado for talking about Uzumaki-san's skills based on nothing more than outdated observations and word-of-mouth from others. Unless you are a hypocrite, you cannot force us to make a decision here when all the rest of us have only the same references to go by."

Shikaku sighed. "He has a point. None of us have seen the boy in years and all we have to go on are memories and your word. We need more to properly determine the boy's rightful rank."

Tsunade slowly nodded. "Very well. I'll arrange a time and location for Naruto to show you his talents and abilities, sort of like a mock chuunin exam. But remember, the civilians cannot be involved since to them this is little more than a talent show, and you should base your judgments on his accomplishments, not his connections. Is that clear?"

No one argued and Tsunade felt relieved. "Good. Then you shall be informed tomorrow of when it will take place. I will discuss this with Naruto first to see when he is physically ready to do this. Dismissed."

Everyone cleared the room, but Hiashi remained. "Hokage-sama could I discuss something with you?"

"Make it quick Hiashi."

"I've been informed you assigned Hinata to spend a large amount of time around Uzumaki-san. May I be told the real reason?"

"Naruto has recently experienced battlefield trauma and physical damage that cannot yet be properly identified. He is recovering and I believed your daughter could monitor his progress properly."

"Why her? Why not someone competent?" Hiashi asked.

Tsuande frowned. "I'm going to assume that was about medical training and not a deliberate crack at your own daughter. I assigned Hinata because she has a gentle touch that soothes Naruto's worries and is not bound to any hospital employee schedule, which I can assure you is not a flexible or open thing most of the time. Not to mention she can stop Naruto from hurting himself without hurting him herself."

The Hyuuga head did not look convinced. "And you believe he is no threat to her? You know he is reckless and-"

"Hiashi, what did I say about judging him based on outdated information?"

"I have no reason to believe he's changed, so until I'm proven otherwise I will think of him as I choose."

Tsunade did not look pleased. "Just wait until the demonstration then Hiashi. But for now, let Hinata do what I assigned her to."

Hiashi mentally groaned, knowing interfering would amount to insubordination. "Very well."

* * *

><p>When Naruto finally arrived back outside his apartment, the sun was nearly setting. He wanted nothing more than to go inside, take a shower and make himself a sandwich, since ramen was still off the list.<p>

As he approached his apartment, he noticed three of four people gathered around under the steps that led up his floor. He immediately rushed over, thinking that something was wrong.

"What happened?" Naruto asked.

It was Tsuyuko, the manager of the building, who answered. She had a youthful face despite her age with sparkling blue eyes and long brown hair with her bangs kept to her left by a clip shaped like a teal hibiscus flower. She wore a black tank top that covered her stomach but showed a small amount of cleavage, baggy red pants, and a green jacket tied to her waist with the sleeves.

"It's Runt." She said sadly.

Runt was the name of a small stray black dog who had been living outside their building for nearly five years. While none of the tenants could actually keep him in their apartment, they did their best to keep him comfortable. Setting up a dog house, and always laying out food for him. Naruto himself had always been rather fond of the dog.

"What happened to Runt?" Naruto asked as he pushed his way through the crowd and stopped dead in his tracks at what he saw.

The dog was lying on his side, dead as a doornail. His stomach had been slit open, allowing the entrails to all spill out. And the little dog's throat had been slashed as well. The poor creature had died in a pool of its own blood.

"Oh Kami-sama… no." Naruto said, his voice filled with sadness and pity towards the animal.

Another resident, a man with black hair kept short with a long low ponytail in the back, an open grey jacket over a dark purple shirt, and dark beige pants, spoke up. "Some bastard must of snuck out in the middle of the night and cut the poor fellow up." He was named Kosuke, and while normally a laidback kind of man right now he spoke coldly, his eyes never wavering from the corpse of the dog. "Fucking bastards, so much blood."

_'Blood?' _Naruto suddenly remembered the blood on his hands from this morning.


	5. Chapter 5

Naruto stood in the shower with the water on super-hot. His head was on the wall as the water ran down his body, staring absently at his feet.

"I didn't do it." He told himself. "I couldn't have done it. Not something like that."

_"But the blood was on your hands." _A voice in the back of his mind said.

Naruto closed his eyes tightly, trying to ignore that fact.

"What did they do to me?" He asked as he slammed his fist against the wall.

(Flashback)

_Meat! There was meat on the floor in front of him, it was uncooked and bloody but it was food._

_For… quite some time now, he could not tell exactly how long at this point, they had been feeding him some sort of tasteless mush. Something like pre-chewed rice that tasted not as good as that sounds. They would serve it to him in a big bucket with a tray of water every day. The first time he had tasted it he gagged, but he had to force himself to eat it since he couldn't eat the bucket instead. But now, he had eaten so much of it that now whenever he even looked at the white goop he nearly vomited._

_But then, they had brought him to this empty room and there was real food in front of him. The rancid smell of the raw meat and blood was sickening, but the sight of something other than the mush was more beautiful than he could describe. Like water in the desert._

_Naruto took a cautious step towards the meat pile, almost expecting it to vanish or for some horrible to happen. There were no guards, no chains, nothing to prevent him from eating the meat._

_Naturally, this seemed too good to be true._

_Just then, a small section of the wall opened up, and from the other side out crawled a wolf. It was a large animal with black matted fur and sickly yellow eyes, with foam drooling at its mouth, almost like it was rabid. Calling it Kuromaru's evil twin wouldn't seem to be an unjustified comparison. The door behind it then closed, preventing any escape for either of them._

_Naruto watched this creature, but it did not watch him. Instead it was focused on the pile of meat. The wolf's long tongue fell from its mouth and it moved towards the pile, with a hungry look in its eyes._

_Naruto suddenly felt a surge of rage course through his body. This wolf was going to eat the meat, 'his' meat. No, no no no no. That was his meat, his food, he deserved that food… he was not going to eat anymore of that mush even if it meant he had to eat the wolf instead._

_With a snarl that belonged to an animal, Naruto lunged at the wolf. Catching the beast in its side and tackling it against the wall, the element of surprise being the single biggest factor here in Naruto's success. The wolf soon fought hard against Naruto, it twisted its body and its jaws snapped down on Naruto's shoulder. The blonde grunted in pain but he ignored it, instead he drew back his fist and began to slam it against the wolf's face. Over and over again Naruto slammed his fist into the creatures face, harder and harder with each hit, hitting like he was trying to turn the lupine's skull inside out._

_All Naruto could see was red, and it was several minutes even after the wolf had died from the repeated blows when Naruto finally stopped. His shoulder was bleeding heavily and the wolf's teeth were still latched to it in a literal deathgrip. The blonde lifted his bloodied hand up and grasped the jaw and pulled up releasing himself from the beast. He was breathing heavily as sweat dripped from his face; it was so hot in here all of a sudden._

_He then suddenly turned his attention back to the pile of meat, he tried to stand in order to walk towards it, but he found his legs would not support his weight. They were not injured, aside from some scratches from the wolf's claws when it kicked, but he had no explanation for why his body wouldn't obey him. Nonetheless, he crawled over to the meat._

_When he finally got the pile of dirty, bloody, slightly fly-covered pile of raw meat, Naruto was fully aware that he was no longer acting on his own consciousness. Now, it was more like a basic animalistic instinct, a need to find nutrition and a desire to defend and even kill to protect that sustenance._

_Tears filled his eyes as he shoved his prize down his throat, tears of worry for his own humanity._

_"I'm in hell."_

(End of flashback)

Naruto laid on his futon, wearing only his boxers, his body still wet from the shower. He hated how his mind just kept drifting back to the memories of what had occurred during his imprisonment. More and more he could remember more details of the hell he was put thru, but whenever he tried to remember how he escaped he was met with a blank wall.

_'How long until I remember my escape? Why can't I remember what surely was the one pleasant memory I have of that time?' _He asked himself._ 'Or was it even worse?'_

* * *

><p>Hinata awoke that morning feeling completely and utterly refreshed, in fact she felt amazing. It felt as if her entire body was now bursting with energy.<p>

She quickly got out of her bed and walked over to the large full view mirror and looked at herself. Standing there dressed only in her sleepwear, she did not appear any different. But the longer Hinata stared at herself, the more sure she was that something was off. She touched her face, her breasts, her sides, she even ran her finger down a lock of her hair, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

_'Just my imagination.'_ She thought to herself as she smiled at the mirror.

Hinata went to her bathroom where she turned on the shower, stripped out of her clothes and stepped into the hot water. She took out her favorite lavender scented shampoo and began to rub the soap all over her body.

_'I can't believe Naruto-kun was actually in my room last night.' _She thought giddily. While she loved seeing him and had often dreamed of having him come into her room, yesterday had not been under the best of circumstances. But still, having him around, being able to just talk to him, and then even… hug him. She was very sure that had helped her recover.

Until-

(Flashback)

_Hinata was leaning back against her pillow gently laughing as Naruto told a funny story from when he had been on his training mission._

_"And then I told Ero-sennin 'that was a guy' and he spent all night in the shower crying." Naruto finished._

_Hinata giggled as she asked "And I thought Jiraiya-sama was a noble and powerful sannin."_

_"Powerful yes, noble no."_

_"Y… you know Na… Naruto-kun, you don't h-have to stay with me anymore i-if you don't want to." She said, thinking that she was boring Naruto._

_Naruto stared at her like she was insane. "Hinata-chan, what kind of friend would I be if I just up and left? Especially after all of the time you spent looking after me when I was as sick as a dog."_

_Hinata blushed lightly. "But I look so gross. My hair is a mess and I have not showered."_

_The blonde boy gave an oblivious grin. "Oh I don't know about that. I think you look very cute."_

_Hinata hid her face with her blanket to cover up the crimson red color it had just turned. _'Cute, Naruto-kun just called me cute.'_ She felt like she was going to pass out._

_Naruto continued to grin, however it flattened when the door to Hinata's room opened and in stepped Hiashi, with a cold stern look on his face._

_"What are you doing in my house, boy?" He demanded but kept his tone down. It was the kind of tone that said 'No answer you give will improve your odds of improving my mood'._

_Naruto immediately stood up and gave a brief bow. "Hyuuga-sama, I was just-"_

_"Who let you in here?" Hiashi interrupted._

_Hinata became worried, if her father new that Hanabi had let Naruto inside-_

_"I let myself in sir. I was worried about Hinata and I wanted to come see her."_

_Hinata stared at Naruto with surprise._

_Hiashi narrowed his eyes. "Breaking and entering into my home like a common criminal. This does not surprise me coming from _you_."_

_"Father-" Hinata began to say but was silenced by a quick look from the elder Hyuuga._

_"Remove yourself from my property boy. Before I remove such a thing like you as I see fit." He said icily, leaving no room for bargaining or patience._

_Naruto stood there rigidly for a moment and then nodded. "As you wish Hyuuga-sama." He then nodded to Hinata. "Goodnight Hinata-chan. I hope you feel better."_

_Naruto walked past Hiashi who quickly added. "And use the backdoor, people like you don't have the privilege to use the main entrance." He didn't even bother to turn around and look at Naruto as he said that. Naruto froze and gave Hiashi a nonthreatening frown, but Hiashi when he did look at Naruto gave him in return a 'What are you doing to do about it?' kind of look before he left the room and hallway._

_Before he left and was out of earshot, Hinata could swear he heard Naruto say something to himself. "Something tells me that guy wouldn't even let the Hokage use the front door if he didn't have to."_

_Hinata sighed to herself. "I agree completely Naruto-kun." She whispered, knowing he couldn't hear her anymore._

(End of Flashback)

Something Hinata would never understand is what her mother ever saw in her father. There was no love in that man; he was rigid pillar of ice most times and an uncontrolled inferno when he was out of blood. Looking down on all others like they were insects that must be stepped on, it was disgusting. Dr. Frankenstein himself could not have made him more of a monster in her eyes.

Hinata then felt a slight throb of pain in her head.

_'Poke out his eyes and make him crawl in the dirt. See how he likes it.'_

_'Who is he to talk down to Naruto-kun like that? His tongue should be cut out.'_

Hinata shook her head. "Whoa… what was that?" She asked herself, those thoughts reminded her of the ones she had yesterday, and that scared her.

She had thought some mean thoughts towards her father on occasion, but never like these. Her normal thoughts were more resentment and cynical, normal for a teenager dealing with a neglectful parent. But now, her train of thought was becoming a bit more violent.

_'Am I getting close to a breaking point?'_ She asked. _'Kurenai-sensei everyone has a limit to the amount of bad attitude they're willing to tolerate. Am I nearing that? Is that why my thoughts are taking a dark turn? If so, how do I handle it? Because I'm afraid of how I might react if I'm pushed too far. I honestly have no idea of what I'd be capable of.'_

She shook her head to clear the thoughts from her confused mind. "I should go see Naruto-kun. That always makes me feel better."

* * *

><p>Hinata went outside to get some fresh air. Since she had no desire to be under surveillance by her clan at the moment, she left the compound and headed into the public part of Konoha.<p>

_'I can't help but feel like someone is following me.'_

She looked over her shoulder, but she did not see anyone. She could have activated her byakugan for a better look, but she decided against it. It was probably just her imagination again. It had been a little active lately so this was probably just another instance.

She walked all the way to Naruto's apartment, walking up the stairs with a skip in her step. She really wanted to thank him for coming over last night and for taking the blame for her sister in front of her father.

She gently knocked on his door and stood there for a moment. When there was no response she knocked on it again. "Naruto-kun?" She called. "Naruto-kun it's me, Hinata."

Still no answer.

Hinata felt a sense of worry pass through her. She instinctively grabbed the door knob, expecting it to be locked, but instead she found that it was not. _'That's not good.'_

She opened the door and stepped inside the small apartment, and on the floor she saw Naruto laying on his futon, fast asleep.

She could not help but notice that he was only wearing his boxers, which gave her a perfect view of his body. She felt her own start to grow hot at the sight of his muscles.

The blonde twitched and stirred slightly in his sleep.

Hinata was beyond tempted now to use her byakugan and just catch a little peek at what lied underneath those boxers, but she forced herself not to.

_'Must… resist… urge.' _She thought as she crept closer to Naruto, being as quite as possible.

She knelt down next to him, gently placing her hand on his forehead to check his temperature. He stiffened a little bit, but then relaxed.

_'Hmm, his temperature is normal. He just must be tired.'_ She thought as she withdrew her hand.

"Mmm… Hinata-chan." Naruto murmured in his sleep.

That caught Hinata completely off guard. She sat there silently staring at Naruto with a mixture of complete shock and utter joy. '_He is dreaming about me? Naruto-kun is dreaming about me?!' _To have some fun, she leaned by his ear. "Yes Naruto-kun?" She whispered sensually.

"You're beautiful." He replied, still unaware she could actually hear him.

Hinata didn't know whether to faint, cheer, or dance at hearing that. The one thing she did do without restraint was smile like she never had before. "You mean that?"

"Believe it."

Feeling bolder, she wanted to satisfy some of her curiosity. "What do you like best about me?"

"Your kind eyes, your pretty hair, your warm smile, your gentle hands, your great courage..." He listed.

_'He thinks I'm courageous too?'_ She asked herself, wondering what he meant.

"...Your nice breasts, your feminine butt, your fine legs..." He continued with the beginning of a perverse smile. "You're beautiful and sexy. I wish I could hold you all night."

Blushing, Hinata tried to calm her fast-beating heart. _'He... he fantasizes about me? Like I do him?'_ She took a deep breath and leaned closer again to whisper some more. "What if I let you?"

"I'd never let you go."

"I wouldn't want you to." She added.

Naruto yawned and looked like he was about to wake up. Feeling nervous again, Hinata backed away, trying to make it look like she had just gotten there. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Huh? Hinata-chan? When did you get here?"

"J-j-just now. Yo-your door wasn't locked and you di-didn't answer when I knocked so I was worried. I'm sorry if I w-woke you up." At the end she was doing her finger-poking nervous habit.

"Actually I needed to wake up. I need to be ready in case Baa-chan calls for me, and I wanted to check something out while I had the chance."

"Oh? Like what?"

"Come with me. Maybe you could help me find it." He said as he stood up and stretched, briefly showing off his abs as he did.

"S-sure, I'll help. What are you looking for?" She asked, trying not to go over to help and take his boxers off to see more.

"A new outfit for when I make chūnin."

* * *

><p>The young unofficial couple was inside one of Konoha's ninja clothing stores sampling possible outfits. Hinata scanned the racks of jackets and coats on one side while Naruto looked on the other.<p>

"Nothing, not one single scrap of orange." Naruto sighed. "What do people have against orange?"

"I… I think it is only good in moderation and coordination." Hinata said softly. "B-but I always thought orange looked great on you Naruto-kun. It made you stand out from everyone and captured your personality well."

Naruto smiled proudly. "Thank you Hinata-chan, that is exactly why I chose the color. It is unique and individual." His smile then dimmed a bit. "And I guess the fact that no one likes it makes it even more suited for me."

Sensing his discomfort, she looped her arm around his. "I like you Naruto-kun, and I like orange too."

"Then why don't you wear it?" He asked.

Hinata shook her head. "Naruto-kun, look for a moment." She then henged herself so that her outfit was orange instead of lavender. "See? It doesn't really look good on me."

Naruto looks at her, at the same time noticing her more mature body and appreciating it. "It looks okay to me, but you're right, lavender does seem to suit you better."

Hinata nodded and released the henge. "Not every color is for every person. For you I'd say bright colors combined with black work best. It just... suits you for some reason. Some red might work too, but I don't think other colors would."

Naruto looked back thru the selection and found a jacket that had some appeal to him. It was a lot like his current one, but it was completely black save for the red swirl on the shoulder, and some white bands at the wrists and all over the front side. Such a plain jacket, but the tag is what caught his eye the most.

"Hey check this out Hinata-chan. This one is supposed to be customizable."

"How so?"

"It says here that I had put my chakra into the white parts and it will change the color and patterns to give it any designs I want the jacket to show. It just won't change the black parts and changing it a second time requires some sort of purge of the first design."

"So if you change your mind or stop liking it you can edit it instead of buying a new one?"

Naruto shrugged. "That's what I'm guessing. I think this is the one for me. I can actually pick the amount of orange I want on it, and you can even help me decide what looks best on me."

"You... you sure I can be helpful for that?"

"Who else am I going to ask? Sakura-chan or Ino? When have they complimented my appearance?" He asked.

"Good point." Hinata replied. "Too bad for them though. They're missing out on one good-looking man."

"And I'd be missing out on one great-looking woman if they were here instead." He added.

She adverted her gaze but never lost her smile. _'How can he make me like this without even trying? I bet if he really did try to romance me I'd turn red permanently.'_

Naruto folded up the jacket. "I think I'll take it. It'll look great with my chuunin vest."

"But won't the vest cover up some of the white?" Hinata asked, pointing at the white front.

"I'll adjust it when I get it. C'mon, let's get out of here. There's somewhere I'd like to go with you." He told her.

_'Yep, permanently red.'_

* * *

><p>"Okay, open your eyes." Naruto said, excited to see Hinata's expression. He had led her to his secret destination blind as to offer her a sense of surprise, and she was happy to go along with it.<p>

The Hyuuga princess did open her eyes and gasped at what she saw. She had the most perfect view of the entire village of Konoha from here. She could see everything from the Academy and the training grounds.

She had known the Hokage monument was the tallest point in the village, but she also knew that people were not allowed to come up here, so she never imagined she would be able to see the village like this. It seemed too small now.

Naruto walked up next to her with his hands at his side. "It's pretty awesome, huh?"

"Na… Naruto-kun, this is amazing!" Hinata exclaimed.

"It is my favorite spot in the whole village. I liked to come up here a lot when I was a kid and just look down at everything below. And since everyone is pretty adamant on 'respecting such a historic monument' no one ever comes up here."

"But what if someone did?" She asked.

He shrugged. "So what? I'm not breaking any law. People aren't forbidden from coming up here, they just choose not to. If someone came up here they couldn't force me to leave anymore than they can forbid me from using the public streets."

Hinata looked back over the village, seeing clouds passing thru the sky and some birds flying. And if you looked really hard you could see people walking in the streets. "I wonder how this looks at night."

"Oh it's wonderful." He told her, then found he couldn't take his eyes off her. "Just like you."

She blushed and turned to him with a flattered smile. "Thank you Naruto-kun. Not to sound ungrateful or anything but... why are you so... complimentary to me lately?"

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I'm very flattered and happy you've been saying such nice things to me, but you never used to be like this for me. What changed?"

"Do you want me to stop?"

"No!" Hinata all but shouted. "No, I like this a lot. I'm just curious." _'And hopeful I can encourage it further if I know what I'm doing right in getting him to notice me.'_

He smiled and held her hand. "Part of it is me being thankful for all the care you've given me since I came back. It's strange, ever since I got out of the hospital you're the only one who's wanted to spend time with me. The others say hi in passing, but it barely lasts more than a few minutes. But you, you're actually enjoying being with me, and I'm actually enjoying time with you. It means a lot to me to have this opportunity. Makes me feel like I for once have a real friend."

The Hyuuga heiress blushed deeper but did not have any signs of fainting this time. Instead she strangely found herself a bit turned on. To hide this, she scooted right next to him. "I'm happy to be your friend Naruto-kun. Will you be mine too?"

"Of course Hinata-chan. Maybe even best friends." He said enthusiastically.

_'And hopefully more someday.'_ Both thought at the same time.

They stared at each other, crystal blue at pearly white. Then both Hinata and Naruto found themselves slowly leaning towards each other. Neither of them seemed to actually be acting on their own, but both of them made no attempts to stop it.

"Naruto-kun..." the Hyuuga girl said softly.

"Hinata-chan..." the blonde prankster responded.

Their lips were so close now, only an inch away, they were completely ready to kiss each other when suddenly-

"Uzumaki Naruto?" An ANBU agent said, appearing almost out of thin air.

"Like you really don't know who I am." Naruto replied, a bit bitter about having the moment ruined.

"Hokage-sama has requested you, saying it is time for you-know-what and to meet here at the Konoha Arena."

"Already?" He asked, then smiled. "Great." He then got up and held his hand out to Hinata. "You wanna come along?"

"I... I can?"

Before the Anbu could say a word, Naruto answered for him. "Of course you can. I'd feel more confident if you did Hinata-chan."

The Hyuuga heiress's head was swimming at his praise. _'I... I would be giving _him_ confidence?'_ Before the risk of fainting approached break-neck speed, she took his hand and got to her feet. "After all the times you've supported me Naruto-kun, it would be an honor to be the one supporting you."

The Anbu looked like he didn't know what to make of this, but decided it was now out of his hands. "Just head there right away." He then departed.

* * *

><p>The Konoha Arena was a large stadium that was mainly reserved for special events such as the Chūnin Exams. It was large enough to hold up to 600+ hundred people but at the moment only the lead members of the shinobi council and Hinata were present, seated in the front row of the stadium while looking down at the only person on the field, Naruto, who seemed very confused.<p>

He stood in the field itself alone, until Tsunade came up to him. Next to her was Shizune and Kakashi.

"Naruto, we will now test you to see if you are yet worthy of the rank of chuunin. Before we go any further, are there any reasons you are not yet capable of undertaking this test?"

"I feel fine Baa-chan. A few uneasy nights but I'm as good as ever." He told her.

"Good. Now, since this will be a solo exercise, it will be done differently than the standard chuunin exams. We will test your strengths in two rounds of combat. But we will not be testing just your ability to fight and win. Like before, there will be other things you must prove to earn a promotion."

Naruto gave his trademark grin, "I am ready Tsunade-sama, believe it."

Tsunade smiled. "Then let us begin."


	6. Chapter 6

In the stadium where the chuunin exam finals took place, the entire Shinobi Council was seated along with the elder advisers, all for the purpose of observing and evaluating Naruto. The Civilian Council was not allowed to partake in this as it in no way was a civilian matter and in Naruto's case couldn't always be trusted to remain unbiased. The only person there not a member of the council was Hinata, who seated herself away from the council, specifically her father who she wasn't in the mood to be around right now.

"Best of luck gaki." Tsunade said before she, Shizune, and Kakashi shunshined out of the arena.

Shikamaru showed up and stood before Naruto, looking his usual lazy self. "Alright Naruto, I'm going to be the one to administer your first portion of the test, the non-combative part. Here we will be testing your intelligence, seeing if you've gotten any smart over the years. Listen carefully since it would be too troublesome to explain this twice."

Naruto nodded. _'At least it won't be a written test. I don't see a desk anywhere.'_

"I will give you five riddles, and you will have two minutes to give me an answer for each one. You are allowed to be incorrect or unable to provide an answer twice, meaning getting three out of five right is the minimum for passing this portion. Do you understand?"

Naruto nodded.

Shikamaru made an effort of pretending to think up a riddle. This would possibly lure Naruto into a false sense of security and see if he would underestimate his opponent's intelligence here. "First riddle. What starts walking on four legs, then walks on two, then walks on three?"

Naruto smirked. "I heard that one somewhere. It's supposed to be a person growing from baby to old guy that needs a cane."

Shikamaru smiled. "Correct. I started with a well-known one to get your mind going, but now it will be tougher. Second riddle,What is taller when it sits down then when it stands up?"

"Huh? Nothing could be taller when-" Naruto objected, confused.

"Naruto, your two minutes have started. I'd think up an answer rather than argue the question if I were you." Shikamaru told him, showing him a stopwatch that was ticking away.

The whiskered blonde silenced himself and tried to think hard. _'Taller when it sits down? What could that possibly describe? A person sitting in a really tall chair? No, that's silly. Shikamaru's probably still giving simple ones for me so it has to be something I've encountered before.'_ He thought, closing his eyes and crossing his arms as he thought it over.

"Thirty seconds left Naruto." Shikamaru warned.

Naruto snapped his fingers. "A toad? When it stands it looks like it's sitting."

Shikamaru shook his head. "Wrong Naruto. The correct answer was a dog or cat. Next time you see one, compare their heights in different positions." Naruto groaned. "Third riddle. What is something you own but others use it more than you do?"

_'Hmm... my house? No. My clothes? No. My bed? No. My shadow? No. My chakra? No.'_ He asked, going over anything he had that came to mind, then something made sense to him enough to chance it. "My name?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Correct. Fourth riddle. What disappears as soon as you've measured it?"

_'Damn, never was good at metrics.'_ Naruto thought, reminding himself as best he could. _'You can measure pounds, grams, ounces, liters, anything solid or liquid basically, but they remain. What about something not solid? Some like air? No, not if you can contain it. Something uncontainable then?' _He saw Shikamaru check his stopwatch and gasped. "Time! It's time!"

The Nara smiled. "Correct. And that's three out of five so you pass and can advance. Though you still need to answer one more for a proper score. Now, what is full of holes but still contains water?"

_'That's a tough one, but if it's like the others the answer's not obvious.'_ He thought, taking his time to answer. "A riverbed?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "Nope, a sponge."

"A sponge? Damn, now it's so obvious." Naruto berated himself.

"Hey, at least you passed. Now the next guy can test you." Shikamaru told him.

* * *

><p>"Was this test really necessary?" Homura asked Tsunade.<p>

The Hokage nodded. "I know it's strange but we didn't have time to prepare an alternative test that could be graded later. We needed someway to test Naruto's ability to figure things out quickly and this was the best we could do."

"The others don't seem to be too impressed." Koharu said, pointing out the other council members talking to themselves, mostly generic comments but nothing downright derogatory or praising.

"It's just begun, no one could expect there to be a grand show in the very beginning. None of our tests ever work that way." Tsunade told them then turned back to see the next portion.

"The questions hardly seemed worth of being a real test." Danzo pointed out.

"We're testing ninja, not scholars. Now hush." Tsunade argued.

* * *

><p>Shikamaru left and Tenten appeared. "Naruto, I am here to test your ability to respond to attacks. Here you are not to attack, you are only to dodge, block, and counter defensivly." She said before holding up a ribbon she tucked into her hitai-ate, the tail end draped under her left hair bun. "Your goal is to get this ribbon off my person in anyway you can within five minutes, all without using an offensive jutsu. And I'm afraid your shadow clones count so this time you cannot use them. I can declare a time out if I have reason to believe you are attacking in some manner. Clear?"<p>

"Can you give me an example of a jutsu that is allowed?"

"Things like substitutions, henges, shunshin, and even taijutsu or genjutsu used defensively are okay."

Naruto grinned. "Gotcha."

Tenten gave no signal as she began attacking. "Shadow Shuriken Clone Jutsu." Six shuriken she threw became sixty and they were coming at him faster than bees.

Naruto smirked and did an invented cross hand sign. "Anti-Clone Jutsu." Suddenly all but the six original shuriken disappeared and Naruto easily dodged them.

Tenten was shocked. "How...? What was that?"

"I've been using shadow clones for years. Did you really believe I'd never learn how to counter the jutsu if it was used against me? I designed a jutsu that destroys anything made using the shadow clone jutsu."

_'That's my Naruto-kun, always so clever and unpredictable.'_ Hinata thought warmly.

Tenten pulled out two scrolls. "Remember Naruto, you still have to approach me here."

"Yeah, but I'm not charging in blindly." He told her, remaining in one spot.

"Ah you're no fun." She said before unfurling both scrolls and jumping into the air. "Twin Rising Dragons."

As expected, so many weapons burst out of the twirling scrolls, flying in all directions at once. Too many to count and too fast to properly identify. Not impossible to evade or defend against, but difficult to.

Tenten had a difficult time focusing her eyes on Naruto since she was spinning, but she did catch what he was doing and she gasped. He had jumped on one of the weapons then jumped to another and another, approaching her. _'He's using my own attack as a way to get to me. Better up my strategy a bit more.'_

Throwing her scrolls she did some hand signs. "Lightning Style Static Circuit Jutsu." All of a sudden a network of electricity danced between the metal weapons in the air and on the ground. Some of it was about to hit him but he performed a substitution and a log took the hit for him.

"Didn't see that one coming Tenten." Naruto said as he appeared behind her.

"Just because I don't like using jutsu doesn't mean I don't know any." _'How did he get behind me so quick after the substitution?'_ Tenten thought, then saw his hand going for the ribbon. Reacting on reflex, she performed a high kick to deflect his hand while she raised her own to block in case of a follow-up hidden grab.

The two landed and Naruto looked confident. "I win."

"Did you?" Tenten asked, pointing to the ribbon still held in her hair, just repositioned to the right side now. Confused, Naruto glanced to what he had in his hands and saw it was one of the bands that held Tenten's hair in place and even a few plucked strands of hair too. Right now her left hairbun was undone and the left side of her hair was hanging down, making her look a lot more feminine that way.

"Clever, but you're going to have to do better than that to out-trick the Hokage of Pranks." Naruto claimed.

"Don't need to. You have less than three minutes left or else you fail." Tenten said before throwing some more kunai at him.

Naruto dodged and started to think as fast as his brain would allow. _'Okay, she already knows most of my normal tricks. I've got to do something to catch her off guard.'_ He thought for a moment longer and then a light bulb popped on in his head.

Naruto reached into his pouch and withdrew a single smoke bomb and tossed it onto the ground. The bomb exploded in a cloud of white, covering him from view.

Standing outside the cloud Tenten gripped her kunai and shook her head as she watched it dissipate. "Really Naruto? Is that all you got? Because you only have two minutes left and it is going to take a lot more than some cheap tricks to-"

Tenten became extremely quiet and her face turned a bright crimson red, because when the smoke finally vanished, standing in front of her was a naked, lower region hidden by lingering smoke, Neji who smiled and winked at Tenten.

The girl simply stood there, her mind utterly blank for the moment, although it came back to her when she suddenly felt slight movement in her hair. She turned to see Naruto standing next to her, holding the ribbon in his hand and smile on his face.

"If at first you don't succeed, try try again." He said with a grin.

Tenten suddenly realized that in her shock she had failed to see him return to normal and approach her. She looked at him with a mixture of confusion at his plan and admiration at its creativity. "How did you-?

"I used that plan several times before on guys using my Sexy Jutsu. It usually gets good results. So I figured it was worth a try using it on you. I'm told women can be perverts too, and apparently some are." Naruto said with a grin.

"But why did you use Neji?" She asked, her face began to turn red again as she felt a moment of anxiety wondering if Naruto knew that she-

"Oh, cause I thought it would shock you and catch you off guard. I mean can you actually imagine Neji naked? I barely could." Naruto said, utterly oblivious.

Tenten first thanked Kami-sama that Naruto was still Naruto, and she also bowed her head. "Congratulations Naruto, you win."

* * *

><p>In the stands, Hiashi tightened his jaw and fumed. "The audacity, the impudence, the unmediated gall. To use the image of my nephew in such a shameless way to deceive-"<p>

Kakashi simply smiled. "I found it to be very clever. He realized how close he had been using the first method, so he reattempted but made necessary changes in order to ensure his victory."

Danzo nodded. "The boy has a natural talent for deception and trickery. Good traits for a ninja."

The other members of the council nodded and Tsunade simply smiled. '_Good job, Naruto. Keep going.'_

Meanwhile on the other side of the arena Hinata had to bite her cheek to keep from laughing.

And hidden behind one of the pillars, having watched the whole thing, Neji made a mental note to personally kill Naruto after he was promoted.

* * *

><p>Shino approached after Tenten left. "Naruto, I'll be your opponent for your third test. It will be the opposite of your test with Tenten-san. You can go on the offensive and I must stay on the defensive, all while I try to take the ribbon off your person. If you can keep it out of my hands for a full five minutes, you win the match. Is that clear?"<p>

Naruto nodded and tucked the ribbon Tenten gave him into his right pocket. "Let's do this."

Shino nodded and just so Naruto could not object held out a timer and activated it. "Begin." All of a sudden he had his swarm out and ready, making it look like Shino was shrouded in a dark cloud.

_'Alright, Shino doesn't have to be offensive to attack me. His bugs could steal this ribbon from me at any time. Getting up close isn't good so how do I...?'_ Naruto's eyes widened as he got an idea.

"Naruto, it is not wise to waste your time here." Shino suggested since he wasn't allowed to make the first move.

Naruto smiled and pulled out the ribbon. "You need to get this away from me within five minutes right?"

"Yes."

_'What are you doing Naruto?'_ Tsunade fretted.

"Well Shino, I guess I have no choice then." The whiskered blonde said before surprising everyone by putting the ribbon in his mouth then swallowing it. And boy did his expression show he did not enjoy it. Keeping down his gag reflex was hard enough, but to keep himself from choking he had to swallow it like a ramen noodle.

Everyone was wide-eyed to see that. Even Shino. "Naruto, what on earth were you thinking?"

"That it was your job to take the ribbon from me but _my_ job was to make sure you didn't. I didn't break any rules and it looks to me like there's no way you can succeed now. And best of all I didn't even have to waste any chakra or endanger myself fighting someone I couldn't possibly beat."

Hinata grinned like a cat that got the cream. _'Yeah, that's my man.'_

Shino didn't show it, but he was clearly pleased. "Very well, and you're right, there is no way for me to retrieve the ribbon without killing you or a good portion of my hive which I would rather do neither of. So I declare you the winner. And on a personal note, I think what your bowels are going to go thru are probably painful enough to compensation for any I might have dealt you here."

"Don't remind me." Naruto groaned.

* * *

><p>"The boy is indeed skilled." Koharu said as she fanned herself, not enjoying the heat of the summer day.<p>

"His problem solving skills are adequate. But I must say his ability in deceptions and strategy is extremely high." Homura added, readjusting his glasses.

Hiashi though was less than convinced, he had spent a good portion of the exam watching his daughter cheer and clap for the boy rather than actually watching him. "He still acts like an immature child. Look at him, showboating as if he were some entertainer."

Kakashi, who had been seated behind Hiashi replied with "I have seen Naruto on actual missions, I can assure you that he takes them with the utmost seriousness."

Hiashi's frown simply deepened. "When I want your opinion commoner, I will ask for it."

"We are all here to give judgment Hyuuga-san, not just you." Kakashi rolled his good eye and looked back down at Naruto and smiled beneath his mask. '_This is it, he is more than ready.'_

Tsunade looked at the council members. "Well? Can you now see it? Naruto is more than deserving of the promotion."

Before anyone could respond, Danzō let out a light cough. "I still have one more test, Hokage-sama."

"Another test? We have already concluded all of the required tests." Tsunade said. "What more does he need to prove?"

"Nothing, simply humor an old man for a moment. I have already decided my answer after seeing his performance. But I simply want to see one more thing." He said quietly.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. _'I just know there's something bad going on about this. But so far, I do have the support of both Koharu and Homura, that along with my vote gives me the majority.'_ "Alright Danzō, you may perform your test. But I reserve the right to void it from consideration if I believe you are testing him inappropriately."

The old man nodded and slowly rose from his sitting place, leaning heavily on his cane as he did though. He looked down at Naruto who looked back up at him and grinned. "So did I pass?" He asked.

Danzō gave a small smile. "You have one final challenge. If you succeed in it, then you have my vote."

"Bring it on then." Naruto said, cockily.

"As you wish." Danzō replied and snapped his fingers.

Naruto barely had time to turn his head when a fist was slammed into his gut, knocking the wind out of him. He doubled over for a second and then the red-haired man who attacked him lifted his arms up and then brought them crashing down onto Naruto's back, forcing him flat on the ground.

On her side, Hinata gasped and covered her mouth in shock. _'Naruto-kun...'_

On the other side of the Arena, the remaining council members stood up and moved to the edge in order to get a better look.

Tsunade glared at Danzō. "What is the meaning of this?"

"I am testing the boy's capability to fight an S-class enemy. Fū there, is an ANBU and one of my bodyguards. As a jinchuuriki, he will be expected to fight the best of other villages, so we should test him against the best of our own."

"This is ridiculous." Kakashi countered. "Naruto already has faced off against S-Class enemies before. There is no need-"

"He has fought against rogues and scoundrels, people that left their villages rather than continue their official training. I want to see how he fairs against a highly trained operative of our village."

Kakashi did not like this; he was a former ANBU agent himself. And one thing every Konoha ANBU agent had been trained in was to deal with Naruto in case the Kyuubi ever got loose. And he also knew that Fū was one of the best and the least restrictive in his methods.

"I simply want to see how the boy fairs against a opponent while we actually see it. I have the highest expectation that he shall succeed." Danzō said with a sly smile.

Meanwhile back on the field, Fu cracked his knuckles. "Rise boy, I am your opponent and you will face me." He said, sounding slightly like a robot.

Naruto did not get up though; he remained lying on the ground.

Fu frowned, he then bent down and grabbed Naruto by his shirt and lifted him up like a rag-doll. "I said rise." He said as he shook Naruto.

Naruto's eyes suddenly opened and he smirked. "Surprise!" He craned back his neck and literally headbutted Fu, hard.

Fu released Naruto and stumbled backwards, more out of surprise rather than pain. And a few members of the council chuckled at this display.

Hinata clapped her hands. _'Go Naruto, win.'_

With Fu temporarily distracted Naruto started to preform several hand signs, he was going to summon a few shadow clones, enough to out number and take this jerk down. However, before he could finish the final sign-

"You have not won yet, boy." Said a voice from behind.

Naruto turned to see three kunai coming right at him. He dodged them effortlessly, but he had no idea where they came from.

He then noticed a shadow fall upon him; he looked up just in time to notice a man falling from the sky towards him. Naruto got out of the way at the last moment, the man landing in the spot where he just been was dark-haired and wore some sort of facial mask with goggle-like lenses where his eyes should have been showing.

The dark-haired man stared at Naruto for a moment and then charged at him, with two kunai in hand.

Naruto barely had enough time to draw one of his own and bring it up to block before the man was upon him.

The two of them exchanged blows, metal clashing against metal. But the man was very fast and Naruto was only just keeping up with his attacks.

_"This is not good." _Naruto thought, if he could just have a moment he could do a hand sign and perform a jutsu, but this guy was not letting up.

And from the corner of his eye, Naruto noticed Fu running straight at him. '_Shit, I forgot about him.'_

* * *

><p>Kakashi gripped the rail from the spectators seating. <em>'Torune and Fu together? Naruto won't be able to fight against that.'<em> He said to himself, very worried about his student.

Fu and Torune were partners in the ANBU and considered to be a deadly duo and among the best in the unit. Even Kakashi himself would have trouble fighting against the two of them together. If they were up against Naruto then-

"You have to stop the match." He said turning to Danzō, who was still watching with interest.

"And why would I do that?" He asked.

"Because it is now unfair. Naruto is fighting against two ANBU level operatives when you specifically asked for only one. This has gone beyond a simple promotion test." Tsunade said, agreeing with Kakashi.

Danzō simply shrugged. "The life of a ninja is hardly fair. The two of you should know that more than anyone. There will be many times when a ninja is forced to fight opponents who both outnumber and outclass him or her whether or not he was prepared for it. How said ninja responds determines whether they will live or die."

Tsunade looked at the other council members for support, hoping they would agree to put an end to this conflict. But they too seemed interested in the battle, watching Naruto struggle against two trained ANBU.

Hiashi actually smirked for a moment before looking at Tsuande. "Hokage-Sama, Danzō-sama does speak the truth. Why not see how Naruto contends against those two. After all, he does not seem to be in any real danger."

"That is not the point. While it is wise to be prepared for the worst and unexpected changes, one should not have to be that paranoid in their own home or with their own comrades." Tsunade argued.

"Oh come now Hokage-sama, as you can see the boy appears to be holding his own very well against the two of them." Danzo said as he gestured back to the battle.

Naruto was breathing heavily, he wanted to stop and catch his breath but neither of his adversaries were letting up on their attack. He was completely on defense right now and they were not allowing for any opening to go on the offensive. He just needed a moment to plan to-

Suddenly Naruto felt a pain in his side. For one split second he looked away to see a gash on his side and blood flowing. He had been struck by one of Torune's kunai, and he hadn't even see in it coming. He suddenly felt a throb in his head.

But that one split second was what the two of them had been waiting for, and they both rushed at the boy with openly lethal intent.

Naruto then felt aches start to appear all throughout his body. Dull throbbing pains that took his mind off of the wound he had just received and as he watched Fu and Torune running at him, everything went black.

(Flashback)

_They had put him into a large empty room. It was in the shape of a cube, and the only light came from a fixture on the ceiling._

_It was very cold in the room. Naruto rubbed his arms in order to generate some heat. They had stripped him of his normal outfit and had put him a thin, grimy, and stained outfit similar to what you would see mental patients wear. Only not as comfortable._

_He looked around the room, trying to figure out what kind of experiment they were going to perform on him this time. He prayed to Kami it was not going to be a repeat of the last one, where he had been placed inside a room where there were no lights or sounds, just utter darkness and silence._

_There were no scientists observing him, at least none that he could see or hear._

_"Well? What do you want from me?" He said aloud._

_His answer came with a 'POP' sound and suddenly splitting pain in his back forced him onto his knees._

_"ARGHHHH!" Naruto cried, it felt like someone had thrown a rock at him, and some had done that to him in his youth so he knew exactly what that felt like._

_After a moment Naruto stood up and turned to see what had struck him._

_Lying on the floor was a small metal ball, no bigger than a marble. Naruto bent down and picked it up, holding it between his fingers. "What the hell?"_

_'POP'_

_Naruto felt another flash of pain in shoulder._

_'POP'_

_His leg._

_'POP' POP' POP' POP' POP'_

_These little metal balls were literally being shot out of small openings in the walls in a rapid barrage, striking every inch of Naruto's body and causing splitting pain. There was nowhere to run, no cover or protection against the balls, and not enough space in the corners to hide. The only thing he could do was fall the ground and curl up covering his head until it ended._

(End Flashback)

Naruto was simply standing there, staring dully into space s Fu and Torune charged at him, both figured that he had finally run out of energy and they had a chance to finally take him down.

Fu was the closest, his fist headed straight for Naruto's face, ready to break the smart mouthed brat's jaw and silence him.

Suddenly though, faster than Fu could see, Naruto's hand shot up and grabbed Fu tightly by the wrist and squeezed it in a tight vice-like grip.

And when Naruto looked at Fu, and the man saw that Naruto's eyes had a red tint to them now, and there was a smile on his face that sent a shiver down Fu's spine.

"You are annoying." The blonde said, and promptly broke Fu's wrist. There was a loud cracking of bone in the air. Fu for the first time in a good long while felt a wave of pain surge thru his body. He wanted to let loose a cry of pain but before he even had the chance, Naruto slammed his free hand open fist into Fu's unprotected face, hard. And he was rewarded by the flow of glistening red blood flowing from Fu's nose.

Torune tried to attack from behind while Naruto was occupied, intending on driving a kunai deep into Naruto's spine but not so bad that Danzou still had a chance to mold him in his image. However, with a quick movement Naruto released Fu and turned his attention to Torune. Naruto's blood-stained fist came up and caught the Aburame hard right in the face, smashing his lens. Torune actually did yell in pain as the glass from the lens's entered his eyes. He dropped his kunai to the ground as he ripped his facemask away and covered his eyes.

"MY EYES! I CAN'T SEE!" He screamed. Naruto simply stood there, with a cruel smirk on his face and look of malice in his eyes.

Fu, his face covered in blood and his right hand in great deal of pain, tried to ignore it long enough to create a blade of chakra on his left hand. _'Let him experience one of the Yamanaka clan's close-range jutsus.'_ He aimed for Naruto's head, hoping to hit into his mind and force his thoughts elsewhere long enough to get himself out of danger.

"Who are you aiming at?" Came a voice from behind. Fu turned his head to see Naruto staring at him with a wide smile.

_'A shadow clone? But when did he-?' _Fu had no time to think about that. Jumping back he re-aimed his attack at this Naruto, he could still get him. He _would_ get him. ROOT either succeeded or died, failure was never ever an option.

Fu saw only a quick movement before a kunai went thru his left hand, breaking his concentration and now rendering both his hands useless. He watched the shadow clone vanish before he fell to the ground and went into shock.

It was just Torune and the real Naruto. The Uzumaki stood there watching him for a moment longer before he started walking towards the dark-haired man, stopping first to pick up the dropped kunai. He held it in his hands for a moment, simply staring at it. And then with very little effort he threw it at Torune, catching the blinded man in the leg. The ROOT agent grunted as he fell to his knees. Naruto then continued to walk towards him.

"STOP! I SURRENDER! YOU WIN!" Torune yelled. _'Danzou-sama have mercy on me, but it is illogical to fight further.'_

"Sorry, but I am not done yet." Naruto said, his voice uncharacteristically as cold as ice.

"What? I said I surrender. You have to accept." Torune's voice was filled with a tiny amount fear as he spoke. And although his eyes were in pain, he opened them just enough to see a blurred image of Naruto standing above him.

"You started this when you butted in a one-on-one fight, and now I am going to finish it." Naruto said as he withdrew another kunai and prepared to-

"ENOUGH!"

Naruto suddenly found himself surrounded by at least 6 more Anbu, all of them had their weapons drawn and pointed at his neck. Kakashi was among them and he had actually revealed his sharingan eye. "That is enough Naruto. It is over."

Naruto watched as Tsunade and a team of medics who had been on standby rushed over to treat both Fu and Torune. He turned his head towards the stands. He saw the council members staring at him with a look of fear in their eyes and disgust on their faces. Some of them even had hate in their eyes and he knew they were thinking along the lines of 'I knew he was a monster'. He saw his friends, who had just earlier wished him luck, have horrified expressions on their faces too. He then looked and saw Hinata simply staring at him with her eyes wide but her expression the least judgmental of them all.

Seeing him look at her she nodded slowly and mouthed 'You did good'.

Naruto dropped the kunai to the ground and suddenly collapsed.


	7. Chapter 7

_It was so cold._

_The light? Where was the light?_

_Air! Can't breathe!_

_It felt like his lungs were going to explode._

_He took in a mouthful of water before they finally pulled him out._

_This was one of the experiments that Naruto hated the most. Where they tied him up, hooked him to a chain, and would then lower into a tank of water of various temperatures. Sometimes it would be freezing cold like this one; sometimes it would be lukewarm, and other times it would be boiling hot._

_As he hung there dangling in the air, coughing up water his entire body shook and possessed a blue tint to it. Every part of him was numb, he could not even feel the instruments of the doctors as they took his heartbeat, temperature, and checked his other vitals._

_He watched then with half closed eyes and listened with partially ringing ears._

_"All normal?" A male voice said._

_"His temperature is climbing back up." Said another._

_"Most normally die after the first round." This one was a female._

_"He might actually be able to survive the final experiment." The first male voice said._

_They spoke like he was not even there, like he had the significance of a fly. He hated that, he hated them._

_All he wanted was a minute of freedom, one minute of freedom and he would make every single one of these crazy bastards pay. But…they always kept him in chains or on so many drugs that he could not even make a fist let alone a hand-sign._

_He just wanted this to stop._

_But it did not stop; in fact he was certain it would never stop. He was certain because they had just begun to lower him back into the cold vat of the dark water. He did not even have the strength to resist. All he could was watch as he sank into the water and take one large gulp of air before vanishing beneath the surface._

* * *

><p>Naruto sat up from his nightmare in a cold sweat.<p>

The first thing that he registered was that he was no longer in the arena. Instead he was once again in a room at the hospital. Next to him was a small table which had a glass of water sitting on it. He reached over and drank greedily from the glass, not realizing how thirsty he had been.

_'What the hell am I doing back here?' _He wondered as he set the glass down.

It was only then that Naruto noticed her.

Hinata was in his room as well. Her chair drawn up close with her head in her arms on the side of bed, breathing softly as she slept.

She looked so beautiful. That peaceful and calm look on her serene face, a few strands of her dark silk like hair were out of place. The very sight of her brought a wave of peace through Naruto.

"Hinata-chan?" Naruto said quietly as he reached over and gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

She almost immediately opened up her eyes, still looking a bit tired in the process. "Mmm... Naruto-kun, you're awake." She said happily as she sat up.

"Yeah. Hinata-chan what is going on? What am I doing here?"

The Hyuuga girl stared at Naruto for a moment. "Don't you remember?"

The blonde shook his head "The last thing I remember was getting hit by a kunai, then seeing a little red, and… waking up here." Naruto said as he rubbed his head "Why? What happened?"

Hinata was a little hesitant at first but she quickly explained what had occurred in the arena. As she did Naruto's eyes widened a bit. "What? I did that?" He said with disbelief in his voice.

Hinata just nodded. "Naruto-kun, the way you acted, how you moved, how you spoke… it was like you were a different person."

"What do you mean?" He asked as he sat up a little, a look of concern on his face.

"It was just… you did not seem like you normally did… you were scary."

Naruto had been called many many things in his life, but scary had never been one of them. And to hear the word come from Hinata's mouth… sent panic through him.

_'What if… what if the Kyuubi is starting to take over?'_ He silently pondered. The very idea of such a thing had made Naruto a target for the ignorant fear and hatred of many villagers and had in recent years been the main cause of his nightmares. The thought that he would become possessed by that monster and made to do horrible things. To kill the people he cared and loved.

Based on what had happened to him recently, with his outburst, his horrible nightmares and headaches, not to mention the fact that the Kyuubi had been very silent recently, never once helping him in his torture. If he was loosing control, if he was indeed becoming a monster, what could be done to stop him? And what was he prepared to do to stop himself?

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked

That brought Naruto out of his thoughts, "Oh sorry Hinata-chan. I just don't remember any of this. It's a lot to take in all at once." He placed a hand over his face. "Something is terribly wrong with me."

It was then that Hinata quickly took his other hand and held it tightly. "Naruto-kun, I am here for you." She told him, every word sincere and filled with kindness.

The blonde drew his hand away from his face and his crystal blue eyes looked with her mother-of-pearl white ones.

The two of them began to slowly draw closer to each other.

"Hinata-chan..."

"Naruto-kun..."

They drew ever closer, their lips were a mere inch apart when suddenly the door to the hospital room opened. The two of them quickly drew apart as Tsunade walked into the room.

"Hokage-sama!" Hinata said as she respectively bowed her head, trying desperately to hide her embarrassment and a touch of anger.

"Hey Obaa-chan!" Naruto said, more casually.

"Good to see that you are up gaki." Tsunade said, though both of them could hear the seriousness in her voice.

Both of them looked at each other and then at her. "What is wrong?"

Tsunade sighed heavily. "Naruto, I have some bad news." She said as she handed him a pink slip of paper, remembering what forced her to give it to him in the first place and hating it.

* * *

><p><em>(Flashback)<em>

_"He passed every single test that was presented to him." Tsunade argued on behalf of Naruto against the council who once again stood against her._

_"This is no longer a matter of the boy's skills." Homura stated coolly._

_"This is more a matter of his psychological state." Hiashi stated, barely able to contain his satisfaction._

_"What about it?" Tsunade demanded._

_"The boy is clearly not stable Hokage-sama. You saw what he did to those men." Koharu quickly fanned herself._

_"I saw him hold his own against two ANBU ninja who were unfairly and needlessly sent against him." Tsunade spat as she turned her eyes menacingly towards Danzo who did not even flinch._

_"Both of whom he seriously injured and was possibly about to kill before he was stopped." Hiashi said._

_"He was defending himself against adversaries who were attacking him with zero restraint. Do any of you deny that those two could have seriously hurt of killed Naruto themselves?"_

_No one spoke up against that._

_"You all said you wanted to see how Naruto could react to a very serious threat and you saw it. Surely you don't expect him to restrain himself again EVERY threat out there. What about the Akatsuki? Is he supposed to hold back against even them?" Tsunade shouted, indignant about their illogical and downright hypocritical standards regarding the whiskered blonde._

_Tsunade returned her attention to Danzo. "Just what the hell were you thinking even? What were you trying to prove?"_

_"I was simply testing the boy." The old man stated with an utter calm in voice._

_"That was not a mere test. That was an a deliberate attack against him. You WANTED him to overreact or die, admit it."_

_Danzo kept a neutral face. "I apologize for what my subordinates did. I can promise you that they will be severely punished as soon as they are healed." 'Punished for losing to him that is.' He added to himself. He would not admit it, but Tsunade was exactly right in her claim._

_"No, when they are healed you will send them to me. I will personally have a talk with them on this matter. They are ninja under my authority after all." Tsunade said as she cracked her fingers loudly, making her point very clear._

_"As you wish Hokage-sama" Danzo said, actually being able to sound genially sorry._

_Tsunade then spoke directly to the council. "Back to the matter that these tests were originally assembled for, I say that Naruto passed. I do not need council permission to authorize his promotion to chuunin."_

_Danzo spoke up. "Indeed you do not Hokage-sama. Nor do _we_ need _your_ permission to do what we view as necessary."_

_"What are you talking about?"_

_Hiashi shamelessly smirked a bit as he answered, wishing he could see the look on Naruto's face once the jinchuuriki heard the verdict._

_(End Flashback)_

* * *

><p>"SUSPENDED?!" Naruto yelled as he looked at the sheet of paper that bore of the seal of the Konoha council. His hands were visibly shaking with rage as he read it.<p>

Hinata looked at Tsunade with a look of shock and bewilderment on her face. "How is this possible?"

"Normally only the Hokage can decide this matter. However if the council has a unanimous vote then they can overrule my authority. They considered what happened in the arena severe enough to-"

"SO I AM FUCKING SUSPENDED FOR DEFENDING MYSELF?" Naruto yelled, his voice filled with anger, hatred, disgust, and something darker as he crumbled up the paper and tossed it aside.

"Naruto, lower your voice." Tsunade instructed. Though that only seemed to fan the flames.

"I will not." Naruto growled. "I did everything I was told. I passed the tests. I proved my worth as a ninja and they have the gall to-"

He was silenced when Hinata placed a gentle hand onto his own. The moment she did that he felt the anger vanish and the rage within him start to cool. "Please, Naruto-kun." He looked into her soft lavender eyes and when he did he found peace.

Naruto took a deep breath and brought his voice back to normal tone. "I am sorry Baa-chan. But my point remains and you know it. This is just another example of the council picking on me."

Tsunade looked at Hinata for a brief moment. _'She has an amazing affect on him.' _She then turned her attention back to Naruto. "Listen, you have every right to be angry. I would be just as angry in your position. But suspension does not mean fired. You are still a ninja."

"How long am I suspended?" He asked, still keeping his voice calm. Hinata took another note at the form, a closer look in fact.

"Just until you have completed a full psych evaluation by an accredited counselor."

"What for? I'm not crazy."

"I do not think you are crazy Naruto. But you might be suffering from some post traumatic stress after what you experienced. There are a few tests to prove this."

The word 'tests' sent a shiver of fear down Naruto's spine. Tests sent flashes of the hellish experiments he was subjected to. "And after I complete these tests, what happens then?"

"Once that is complete and the doctor gives you the okay you will be fully reinstated. And I intend to make damn sure that it is as a chuunin." She said firmly.

"A chunnin?" Naruto said with a bit of surprise. "You mean it?"

Neither noticed Hinata frowning at the moment.

"Naruto you passed the test. Every single one of them, you deserve the promotion without a doubt." Tsunade told him with a smile.

Naruto actually bowed his head to her. "Thank you."

Tsunade smiled again, but before she could say more Hinata spoke up. "Hokage-sama, there's more on her I'm assuming you didn't see." She said holding out the note. "Read the margin at the bottom."

_'Margin?'_ Tsunade asked, certain there wasn't supposed to be a margin, even though official notions did sometimes have them. Taking the notice, she looked at the small-printed words and saw what got Hinata so upset.

_'Go fuck yourself demon. As long as we live you'll always be a mere shitstain, Kyuubi or not. I hope you die before this is lifted.'_

Tsunade frowned too. "Well, this might have been just some ass blowing off steam hoping Naruto would overreact and force me to give him something worse than a simple suspension. But on the plus side, this now gives me a case against the suspension and an excuse to get rid of some of the more self-important councilmen ahead of schedule."

"So am I not suspended then?" Naruto asked.

"Sadly no. For appearances sake if nothing else we should keep that going to keep anyone from doing more than just debasing you." Tsunade suggested.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "If me being a kid didn't stop this, this isn't going to."

Tsunade grimaced at the reminder that Naruto nearly died on a regular basis during a time she had other priorities. "Even so, I can send this to the daimyo for political backing to overrule any council choice, and I do think you should use this time to get evaluated for your own good. So for now, just let them think they've won, then when the time's right, show them who really won."

"Lose the battle to win the war." Hinata summarized for her loved one, who nodded.

"Anyway, I fill out some paperwork so you can leave the hospital. I will also have an attendant give you some information before you go. If you will please excuse me." Tsunade finished, quickly eyeing the two teens before leaving them.

As she walked down the hall she could not help but smile. She greatly admired the dedication and care that Hinata showed to Naruto. And while Tsunade was not entirely sure if Naruto could tell it, she could, it was love.

It was the type of pure and devoted love that Tsunade herself had felt for Dan so long ago.

She walked down the hallway intending to leave and head back to the Hokage tower so that she could deal with the giant stack of papers on her desk. By that she meant she was going to give the stack to Shizune to deal with.

However right when she was about to reach the door she was stopped by one of the doctors.

"Hokage-sama." The grey-haired male physician said after quickly bowing, he offered her a folder. "These are the results from the tests you ordered on the Uzumaki boy from the other day."

Tsunade took the folder and nodded to the doctor. "Thank you, you may return to your duties"

The doctor bowed to Tsunade once again and quickly walked off. When he was gone Tsunade walked out the doors and opened the file. In the dwindling light she read the results and as she did her brow arched slightly in confusion.

* * *

><p>Deep within the secret hideout of ROOT headquarters, Danzo was having a little discussion of his own.<p>

Torune and Fu kneeled before their master, as best they could. Torune had bandages wrapped around his eyes after a surgery to remove the glass-shards from them. Fu's hand was bandaged from where Naruto had stabbed him along with his face as well after the beating he had received from the brat.

Danzo looked down at his two subordinates, his face a stoic mask. No emotion of any kind was visible and when he spoke, even his voice possessed a neutral tone to it.

"Please tell me, what was it that the two of you had been specifically trained for?" He asked.

Torune and Fu answered together. "To defeat and subdue Naruto Uzumaki, the container of the Kyuubi."

Danzo nodded "Correct. Now could either of you please explain what exactly happened in the arena."

Neither of them dared to say a word, they just pressed their faces closer against the floor. Danzo continued to stare down at them as he spoke "You failed." They cringed at the word. "I will repeat, the two of you failed. You failed me, you failed ROOT, and you failed yourselves. You know how I react to failure."

"My lord if I may-" Fu started to say as he lifted his head off of the ground, only to be silenced by a mere movement of Danzo's hand.

"Your mission was simple, to make the boy look foolish, to make him look weak when confronted by an actual adversary. To make the council realize that it is better to keep him close to Konoha and with the lowest rank possible. You were supposed to defeat him without even trying." The elder man stated coldly.

Neither of the men on the floor said anything, they dare not.

"You two, trained ANBU and ROOT agents allowed a child, a _genin_, to defeat and humiliate you. To humiliate _me_."

They were literally pressing themselves against the floor now they were bowing so low.

Danzo sighed "I blame myself, I sent doves to do the job of a hawk." He said as he tapped his cane against the ground. This was as close as he would ever get to admitting that he had underestimated Naruto. He had expected Naruto to fall apart like a house of cards, not triumph like a conqueror. He had assumed the victory would be easy, and therefore made his servants prepare for an easy fight.

Both minions kept themselves low to the ground, not daring to look at their master.

"Under normal circumstances, I would have you both killed. However, I still find that you have uses. So you may continue to live and serve me… as a token of my generosity."

"Thank you Danzo-sama." They said together.

"Dismissed." The two of them immediately vanished.

Danzo at that point sat down in his chair, feeling the weight of years. "So hard to find good help these days. Eh?" He said as he looked over his shoulder in a seemly empty and shadowed corner of the room.

"Starting tomorrow I need you to watch the boy closely. Take note of everything he does or says. If he sneezes I want it recorded. If he does anything of interest, bring him to me."

It was then from the shadows emerged a figure.

Sai kneeled. "As you command, Danzo-sama."

* * *

><p><em>'It is like we are a real couple now.' <em>Hinata thought to herself as she and Naruto walked with each other, arm in arm through the lamp lit streets of Konoha.

Naruto had insisted that he walk Hinata home, saying that it was the least he could do after she had stayed with him at the hospital for yet a second time.

Nearly every one of Hinata's fantasies about Naruto had come true in such a short time. Just two important factors were missing, the all important kiss and an actual declaration that he and she were an official couple.

But at the moment this, just being with him, just walking with him, was enough for her.

They had been walking in silence for most of the journey, simply enjoying the pleasure of each other's company. In fact Hinata had even rested her head against Naruto's shoulder as they walked.

But finally that silence was broken when Naruto asked something that had been pressing him. "Hinata, do you think I am a monster?"

Hinata lifted her head from his shoulder and looked at him, for sure she had not heard the question right. "Pardon?"

"Do you think that I am a monster?"

"Of course not. Why would you ask such a question?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, never mind. Forget I even asked." He said, realizing he had made an error and sought to change the subject.

Hinata gripped his sleeve though. "No, tell me why you would ask that question? What is wrong? If I had done what you had done, would you call me a monster?"

Naruto's eyes slightly widened. "No way. You're no monster."

"Neither are you." The Hyuuga heiress said with absolute certainty. _'Does this have anything to do with that strange Kyuubi reference in the margin?'_

Naruto closed his eyes. "Thank you Hinata-chan, that means a lot to me. I was afraid because everyone just loves to hate me at the drop of a hat. This sort of thing just gives them some kind of justification."

"Why would they think that? I don't see people go around calling anyone else monsters. What makes you alone so terrible to them?" Hinata asked.

"It wasn't something I did, but something done to me." He answered, instinctively trying to delay any admittance. He feared a negative reaction from her, but he thought about the history of her behavior. _'I don't like it when people refuse to trust me just because I might take it wrong. I should give her the same courtesy I like to be given.'_

With that he steeled himself and looked her in the eyes. "Hinata-chan, I'm going to tell you something that's not easy for me to say. If you think you're better off not knowing tell me now, because this isn't something you can just forget."

Hinata wrapped her arms around him. "I want to help you Naruto-kun. If there's only one person in this village you can trust, it's me. I swear on my mother's grave nothing you say or do can make me think less of you."

Surprised, Naruto didn't know what to feel, but he knew he had to repay her faith in him by sharing this secret. To refuse to now would only hurt the girl. "Okay, I'll tell you, but we need to get somewhere private first. I don't want anyone else overhearing us."

Hinata nodded. "We should head to your place. Much more private than mine."

"And friendlier too." Naruto joked, making Hinata smile.

* * *

><p>With much discretion the two made it back to Naruto's apartment. They had to do it carefully so those that disliked their company wouldn't go crazy seeing them go to his house, and so those that were nicer wouldn't let it be known to others who probably wouldn't be so nice.<p>

Fortunately they did make it to their destination without bother, but as far as Naruto was concerned what was to come was the real hard part.

"Hinata-chan, this is what I know." He started, seated on his couch. She sat next to him to make him feel reassured. "I was born the day the Kyuubi attacked. What they told us about the Yondaime defeating the fox was wrong. He didn't kill the fox. He sealed it away. I'm sure a smart girl like you can probably figure out where."

All the evidence went thru Hinata's mind in one second. The Kyuubi being sealed, Naruto's birth, his treatment in public, his fear of her hating him. It all pointed to one reasonable answer.

"It was you, he_ used_ you. He took you from your crib and basically forced you to keep a demon locked away for the rest of your life." She said soothingly.

Naruto nodded with closed eyes. "I never really thought of it as him using me, but it's not like I really had a choice in the matter so you're not exactly wrong."

"What about your parents? Or at least your mom? I mean, if that really was the day you were born then the Yondaime had to have interacted with your mother in order to even get ahold of you." She asked.

Naruto opened his eyes. "No one's ever told me a word about my parents."

"Someone had to know them. There's no way _no one_ could know them." Hinata insisted.

"I think Jij knew, but he died before he could tell me. He always said he'd tell me when I could handle it."

Hinata frowned. "That's nonsense." Naruto gave her a surprised look. "He'd tell you when you could handle it? That's basically telling a child 'I know something you don't and you'll never know until I say so'. What made him think you couldn't already handle it?"

"I... I don't know, but you're right. Why couldn't I know? What was so terrible about me knowing? Did he not know and was just toying with me?"

"Did he ever tell you when he thought you'd be ready?" Hinata asked.

Naruto closed his eyes and tried to recall such information. "I think he said... when I was strong enough to protect myself and liked enough to be supported by the village."

Hinata lightly frowned. "Meaning basically when you were already qualified to become Hokage? When there was no question of your loyalty to the village?"

Naruto opened his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I mean it sounds to me like he never intended to tell you." Hinata claimed. Seeing him about to object, she placed a finger on his lips. "Let me explain first Naruto-kun. I might be wrong, but think about it like this first before you defend the old man." Naruto nodded and allowed Hinata to continue.

"The Sandaime made it appear that he knew who your parents are. At the same time, he gave you stipulations regarding acquiring it, meaning he clearly wasn't going to just tell you. No, some condition had to be met first. The condition being that you were stronger and liked throughout Konoha. Is this right?" She asked, and he nodded. "If that's true, then it sounds like he never intended to tell you."

"What?" Naruto asked, shocked by the accusation.

"Think about it, he had to know that you were lonely and disliked by the population. Any decent person would have told you your parents so you had something positive to think about. But no, he chose to use that knowledge as a stick, to motivate you to do something he wanted you to do. He basically blackmailed you, saying that if you wanted this information, you had to do something for him first."

_'That actually makes sense.'_ Naruto thought, even though he didn't want to belittle Sarutobi.

"Assuming this is true, the question then is what was the 'something' he wanted from you." Hinata continued. "Because you had a lot of hidden power at your disposal, once you learned to use it of course, and because the villagers openly disliked you, he must have wanted to ensure you were no threat to others. It's entirely likely that what he wanted was to guarantee that even if you got mad at people you'd never do anything about it. That your loyalty to Konoha was absolute, unconditional. So he kept this over your head, making you think that if you ever did something he didn't like you'd never know who your parents were."

Naruto only had to think it over a little. "You're right, that makes too much sense not to be true. So the old man... he never trusted me?"

"On some level of his mind, no he didn't. I'm sure he didn't hate you, but obviously he preferred you to be a victim over a victimizer." Hinata added. "I mean, why else would he let the village know about Kyuubi? It's pretty obvious the adults know but not our age group. I understand letting some people know so they can be prepared to act if something goes wrong, but _everyone_? Even a gossip breaking the law would have been caught and silenced before it spread too far. It sounds to me like he _wanted_ everyone to know and mistrust you. To beat you into submission before you could do it to anyone else."

Naruto had never thought of that before. He always trusted the Sandaime to have done everything humanly possible to fix the situation because that's what hokages do. He never for a moment considered that maybe, just maybe, Sarutobi had let a few things happen instead. But now that he was considering it...

_'Could he really have...? Did he? He always showed up to save me when the mobs got too much, but why didn't he act sooner? Why was it always after they hurt me but before they could kill me? Maybe the Anbu watching didn't tell him right away, but shouldn't he have corrected that? Made sure it didn't happen again? Or punish the civilians to ensure the rest never tried it? No, it happened over and over again, always the same way. Almost like he... set it up that way.'_

Naruto clenched his fist, feeling more betrayed than he had when Sasuke tried to kill him. "I'll probably never know if this is true or not, but if it _is_, then my entire life has been this village's toy."

Hinata tried to pacify him with a hug. "Also, there's possibly another reason. What if your parents left you something? In a ninja village, parents always have some sort of inheritance for their children. A special jutsu, money, property, something worth keeping in the family. I think it's safe to say your parents were ninja, after all if they were civilians there wouldn't be such a need for secrecy." Naruto nodded, seeing her point. "So if your parents left you something, if you never knew who they were, you could never claim such an inheritance. And with it being unclaimed, who would it go to?"

Naruto's eyes widened. "The Hokage, right?"

Hinata nodded. "Technically, all unclaimed property is the property of the Hokage, but he can't use it as his own. Not right away. He has to allow a grace period to give a rightful heir a chance to make themselves known. That was the main reason the Uchiha compound never became public property, there was an heir who claimed it, and even if Sasuke-san hadn't, Hokage-sama couldn't open it to the public right away. But if there's some Uzumaki inheritance for you-"

"He would want me unaware so he could keep it to himself." Naruto finished. "Or give it to someone else, someone he felt deserved it more."

Hinata nodded. "Yes, exactly. And if that's true, then the problem's even worse. Because our current hokage, she should know some of this."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, there'd have to be some record. I'm sure Baa-chan's silence means we're worried about nothing, but what if she's in on it? Heck what if she's only pretending to promote me and this whole test was just some way for them to monitor me? Even if it wasn't, I just know someone's trying to get me to stay genin, because Heaven forbid I outrank someone. That note you pointed out practically said so. And no offense Hinata-chan, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if your dad was trying to get me fired as a ninja altogether."

Hinata nodded. "None taken, it wouldn't surprise me either. To be honest, he's even talking of getting _me_ removed from the ranks, but in a different way."

Naruto looked at her. "What do you mean?"

Hinata struggled to put it into words. "He didn't know I could hear him, or maybe he wanted me to overhear, but anyway, years ago he and some elders were having another one of their 'Hinata is useless' talks."

"Another?" Naruto repeated. "They do it more than once?"

The Hyuuga heiress nodded. "I've never counted how many, but yeah, it's a routine thing. This one particular talk revolved around the idea of pulling me out of the ninja ranks before I could possibly make a mistake. Meaning before I could do anything that could make anyone even start to think 'Hey, maybe the Hyuuga aren't perfect'."

"The Hyuga aren't perfect. No one is." The whiskered blonde stated.

"I know, but we're talking about people that want to believe they are, and take everything personally. Anyway, they seriously considered withdrawing me from the ranks entirely, but Otou-san had a different idea. He said I should stay in hopes that maybe I can actually improve with experience, and if I couldn't, then..." She shed a tear at the memory. "Then the enemy would kill me for them."

Naruto had never looked so appalled before in his life. "Wait, you mean they wanted you to die all so some people wouldn't think less of you?"

Hinata shook her head. "No, they don't care what people think about me. They're just convinced that people will look at me and say 'This girl is pathetic, therefore all Hyuuga are just as pathetic'. They wanted to kill me or lock me away to ensure that never happened. Obviously killing me seemed the favorable idea for a time, but Otou-san warned them that my death could not be kept secret from others outside the clan and if it could be traced back to them it would do even more harm to their reputation."

Naruto nodded in understanding. "So he decided to send you out and let someone else kill you instead, thus keeping them safe. And because of the missions we have to take, he wouldn't even have to arrange for anything, just let our work take its natural course." Hinata nodded. "These people are idiots. They don't know you at all. They underestimated you way too much."

Hinata smiled and she then reached up and gently stroked the blonde's face. "Just like they underestimate you."

For the third time that day their faces drew closer together.

"Naruto-kun..."

"Hinata-chan..."

It was then for the first time… their lips met.


	8. Chapter 8

Tsunade sat in her office late that night, staring at the report the doctor had given her on Naruto's blood-work. What her eyes were most fixated on were the highlighted areas, which showed the chemical makeup of the blood. The specialists had identified a chemical in the blood that had not previously been there. They had worked out the chemical equation and underlined it, right now Tsunade stared at that equation.

9 Fe + 3 O2 - 9 Fe2O3

_'I've seen this equation before. I know it, but where?'_

Tsunade reached over and picked up her bottle of sake and took a big drink from it as she continued to stare at the equation. She had been raking her brain for hours now, she knew without a doubt that she had seen this equation once before but she could not place the memory. It had been many years ago, she knew that. When she had been a young woman and she had seen it only briefly…but where and when?

The Slug Sannin leaned back in her chair and bit her thumbnail. Although she could not remember the exact thoughts that were related to this equation she could remember the feelings, staring at those letter and numbers sent chills through her body.

She sighed and took another drink of sake, she was going to be up for a very long night.

* * *

><p>The first rays of sunlight entered through the window of Naruto's apartment, hitting Hinata directly in the face.<p>

"Hmmm..." She said with a frown as she drew the blanket closer over her face, close to returning to the realm of dreams once again. Then suddenly her eyes snapped open and she sat up on the futon, looking around as she did.

She was still in Naruto's apartment. She had spent the night here. And right at that moment, the only thing she was wearing was a pair of panties.

"But where is…?" She asked then she saw him.

Naruto was lying on the floor, stiff as a board and sound asleep, bare-chested with a blanket covering everything below his stomach. Hinata leaned closer and stared at Naruto's sleeping face. He looked so peaceful, defenseless, and handsome like this.

Hinata smiled, and summoning bravery she didn't know she had, she silently crawled out of his bed and knelt down beside him without bothering to retrieve her clothes. Her fingers gently traced over his whisker-like birthmarks, causing him to smile slightly in his sleep, as she thought back to last night.

(Flashback)

_At that moment, Hinata felt all of her dreams, wishes, and fantasies come true at a single moment. She felt something like electricity course through her body. The taste of Naruto's lips was like 'beef ramen' She was not surprised by this and could barely suppress a giggle. But her desire to make this kiss last as long as possible overpowered the urge, she slowly wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck._

_The blonde boy didn't seem to mind this at all, and wrapped his own hands around her waist. He was beyond wondering why he was kissing Hinata, just happy that she was enjoying it. Had it been anyone else, his face would have been inside out right about now._

_After a bit they had to break the kiss, and for a moment Naruto looked into Hinata's eyes. They were filled with emotions he could not identify, which was a good thing since the emotions that were easiest for him to recognize where the ones that wished him ill. Hinata's eyes could only be described as positive, joyful, and it happened to please and scare Naruto at the same time._

_Rather than press his luck trying to continue the kiss or ask her why she allowed him, Naruto simply hugged her, just grateful she wasn't trying to hurt him. She hugged back, grateful he wasn't being nervous or rejectful._

_"Feel better now Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked._

_The blonde smiled. "I don't know, I'm a little... disoriented. I might get worse overnight without proper care." His tone wasn't even close to serious._

_Hinata knew this and knew what it was he was really saying then, making her smile. "Well then, I can't leave you here alone if you might relapse. It's my duty to stay here all night and make sure you're healthy and happy. First step, giving you your medicine, and I think mouth-to-mouth administration is the best approach in your condition."_

_With that the kissing resumed, with neither one caring about any sense of accuracy in Hinata's addition to the personal joke._

(End Flashback)

_'So I stayed the night at Naruto-kun's place.'_ Hinata thought to herself, feeling a strange sense of accomplishment. _'Father's going to be pissed if he hears of this, but so what? When isn't he pissed at hearing about me? Wait, did I really just use the word 'pissed'? That's not like me. But it's hardly inaccurate.'_

Seeing he was still asleep, Hinata just looked at him happily. _'This reminds me of another time, where he talked about me while dreaming. He called me sexy and wished he could hold me.'_ A light blush appeared but disappeared almost as quickly. _'I did ask what he'd do if I let him, so...'_

With boldness she didn't know she could ever have, she chose to lay down beside him and pulled the blanket up to cover them both. She wasn't tired, just enjoying the moment allowing her to cuddle up there with him.

_'He's so warm, and smells nice. Masculine, and a little dirty, but he's a ninja not a model. He's not supposed to smell like roses.'_ She thought while listening to his heartbeat. _'And he's a great ninja at that. Too great for a girl like me, but I'm not giving him up. I can't believe I got this chance, but now that I have, I'm not letting anyone try to come between us.'_

At the same time, Naruto was regaining consciousness but kept his eyes closed. _'So she got out of bed to be with me? And she's perfectly fine being in just her underwear here? Wow, that must mean she's got it bad for me. Why else would she do this? I know for a fact Hinata would never do this for just any guy. After all, she did say she's wanted to date only me.'_

Rather than be confused, Naruto was overall flattered. He finally had a girl who expressed romantic interest in him without telling him in mixed signals. Ever since Sasuke got fangirls Naruto had wanted just one girl to look at him the same way, with praise and wonder and encouragement. Heck even a girl that told him 'Good job' would have been something to appreciate. And while Hinata had tried, her manner of expression tended to lose something in translation when Naruto heard it, if he heard it at all.

But there was nothing to mistranslate about a girl in her panties getting into a boy's arms of her own free will. If this didn't mean she was crazy about the whiskered blonde, then something was seriously wrong. And given all the mistrust and negativity Naruto had to deal with regularly, he really wanted to believe Hinata really was truthful when she called herself the one person in Konoha Naruto could always trust unconditionally.

_'But how do I know for sure she really does like me and isn't just trying to lure me off-guard?'_ Naruto asked himself, careful to keep her convinced he was still asleep. _'I don't really know her that well, so I can't be sure what she ultimately wants. She might be under orders from Baa-chan or even her old man to kill me if I do anything threatening, especially now. Maybe I can test her, see what she'd do if it looked like she had the chance to hurt me.'_

For starters, he moved his arm around her, trying to make it look completely natural. As a result he wasn't holding her much, just had his arm around her and hand atop her like she was just a big pillow. So far Hinata had no complaints, just hummed with satisfaction. After waiting a bit, Naruto let his hand get lower, and Hinata still did not complain.

_'So far so good.'_ He thought to himself before going for the goal. His hand went lower and his arm went completely lax, the result being his hand brushing against Hinata's rear end without grabbing or cupping it, rather it just looked like his hand was just coincidentally atop the back of her hip without him aware of it.

After a moment Hinata started to move, making Naruto worry he had gone too far. She moved up to where her mouth was right by his ear.

"If you want to touch me, all you have to do is ask."

In a surprise move, the Hyuuga heiress quickly sat atop Naruto. The shock of it made Naruto forget he was faking sleep and open his eyes at her, to see her smiling with a blush, and her bountiful breasts completely unobscured for his viewing pleasure.

"Do you... like my body Naruto-kun?" She asked, trying to sound seductive but instead it sounded nervous, bashful. He had called her sexy, but she wanted to hear him say it directly.

"If I say yes, will you hurt me?" He asked.

Hinata was silent for a moment, then gently put her hand on his cheek. "Naruto-kun, I am many things, but I am certainly not Sakura. I am not like her, I am not like Ino, I'm not even like Kurenai-sensei. Please do not judge me as if I'm no different than any other woman out there."

"I'm not, but you still haven't really answered my question." He noted.

She smiled teasingly. "You never answered mine either. But no, I will not hurt you. If anything, I'd be flattered. I've been afraid for a long time my body wasn't the kind you found... appealing."

"Why would you think that?" Naruto asked.

Hinata lost her smile. "Well for starters, you kept going after Sakura."

"Only because I could understand her." Naruto interjecting, confusing the white-eyed girl above him. "No offense Hinata, but back then with all your stuttering and whispering, it was hard to hear anything you said to me. Sakura may not have been nice, but at least she was loud and clear."

"So you'd rather be with a girl who shouts 'I hate you' over a girl who whispers 'I love you'?" Hinata asked, then turned red and wide-eyed as she realized she had virtually and unintentionally just confessed to him.

"No way, what normal guy would?" Naruto said, not catching the slip and just seeing it as a mere analogy. "I just didn't have a lot of patience back then to listen to you better, and Ero-sennin told me during my trip that most of my pursuit of Sakura centered on one main thing, competition."

"Competition?" Hinata repeated, her blush receding.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, he said that young boys are very competitive and always trying to prove themselves the best at something, or even everything. Including when it comes to getting girlfriends. He said I probably only wanted Sakura just because she was the hardest one to claim, the greatest challenge, and anyone who could take her away from Sasuke would have to be the best. I tried to deny it, but the fact is since I've been back, Sakura hasn't had the same appeal to me. The challenge is gone, there's nothing to prove, so I guess the old pervert was right."

"Well at least you're more mature now." Hinata told him, her smile slightly returning, and she glanced down. "Quite a bit so." She added, referencing his current erection which had been there for a bit.

"Umm... Hinata? I've been wondering something." Naruto started. "You asked me if I preferred a girl who shouts 'I hate you' over a girl who whispers 'I love you'." Hinata's blush returned. "I know you meant Sakura was the first girl, but... were you saying that you're the second one?"

Hinata looked away, not sure how to best answer him, but after a moment of doubt closed her eyes and steeled her nerves. _'Get a grip girl, you've already shown him everything you have to offer and let him do more than just look. Surely you can handle saying a few words, even if they are the most important ones you'll ever say.'_

She looked at him with a firm but friendly look. "Yes Naruto-kun, I am the second one. I am the girl who whispers 'I love you' to you. I am the girl who wants to be the one you pursue. I am the girl who would do anything for you. And, I am the girl who danced in the moonlight by the waterfall all those years ago."

Naruto's eyes nearly fell out of his head. "That girl was you? For a bit I actually wondered if it was you, but I figured there was no way you'd do something like that."

"It was an impulse decision. To tell the truth, I needed some stress relief on that mission. It was my first one with you after all."

"Did I stress you out?" Naruto asked.

"Sort of, not the kind of stress you're thinking of. Truth is, I was horny."

"Horny? For me?" Naruto asked. "Well, that sure explains a lot. And it looks like you still are."

"Damn right I am." She blurted before she could stop herself. "But... I think it would be better to save anything for later, for a special occasion. I want my first time with you to be something worth remembering, not just something we did on impulse."

"No problem." Naruto told her. "How about when I get promoted?"

"That would be perfect. I'm sure it will be any day now."

Naruto smiled, then looked a bit surprised. "Wait, did we just promise what I think we did?"

Hinata too looked a bit surprised as the reality of what hey just said sank in, but she brought her smile back. "I think we just did. Want to change your mind?"

With a playful grin, Naruto brought her down and kissed her. "Not on your life."

* * *

><p>Shizune arrived at her usual time that morning as she always did. She knew that she would have to have all the necessary reports, agendas, and papers ready for Tsunade by the time she arrived, which would normally not bee until the early afternoon.<p>

The dark-haired woman scratched Tonton on the head, the little pig, who she was carrying in her arms oinked with satisfaction.

When Shizune slid open the door to the Hokage's office she was caught completely off guard. Tsunade was already at her desk, which was stacked high with files and mission reports; all of which looked fairly old, considering how yellowed some of them were.

"NO!" Tsunade yelled as she tossed a large booklet of papers to a corner where a small pile had formed. The female hokage seemed to have not even noticed Shizune's entrance.

Shizune meanwhile just stood there, her mouth slightly open, even little Tonton's head was turned to the side in puzzlement. Finally after several moments of silence Shizune finally spoke up. "Tsunade-sama?" She said tentatively.

Tsunade's head jerked up with such ferocity and force it looked like her neck might snap. "Shizune, there you are, what took you so long?"

Once again Shizune was struck with silence as she stared at her mistress.

Tsunade simply shook her head. "Never mind, bring me a pot of black coffee." She ordered as she flipped open another file and began to scan through it with here eyes.

"But…my lady…did…have you been here all night?" Shizune asked.

"Yes, there is something here… something in these reports. I am trying to find it." Tsunade said as she tossed the file into the pile with the others.

"Well what is it you are looking for?" Shizune asked.

"I don't know yet." Tsunade said plainly.

"Then how do you know what it is when you find it?" Shizune asked, her confusion growing.

"I just will." Tsunade said as she grabbed another file. "Now, please get me some coffee." She said as she returned to her reading.

Shizune stood there for a moment longer then nodded "Yes my lady." She said as she set Tonton down on the ground, the little piggy ran over to his little basket in the corner. Shizune exited the room and went to prepare the coffee. As she brewed the beverage her mind was racing a mile a minute. What could have been so important to put Tsunade into such a serious mood?

Once the coffee had been brewed Shizune poured it into a cup and placed it on a tray, along with a cup of creamer, along with a small plate of rice cakes, because she was certain that Tsunade was hungry.

She carried the tray back to the office and no sooner did she step through the door did Tsunade let out a whooping "AHA!" She said as she suddenly stood up!

The sudden sound caused Tonton to jump into the air and nearly made Shizune drop her tray. "What is it my lady?" Shizune asked as she steadied herself.

"I found it." Tsunade said as she held up and old file labeled 'Mission: Unit 137'. "Unit 137 was a covert biological warfare and Medical research group in Kiri that operated during the Second Ninja World War." Tsunade said as she sipped her coffee. Shizune sat on a chair in front of Tsunade's desk while Tonton chomped on the rice-cakes.

Shizune shook her head "I've never heard of them."

"Be thankful you haven't. They were responsible for some of the most notorious war crimes committed during the war. They undertook a large number lethal human experimentation projects, often using captured enemies as their test subjects."

"That's awful."

Tsunade nodded. "During the war, Kiri had taken a heavy toll. At the beginning they had been able to take a lot of ground in the Land of Lightning, but towards the middle of the war their lines were spread out to thin and they were running out of shinobi. Facing the idea of defeat, the Kiri government ordered Unit 137 to find a way to create super soldier."

"Super soldiers?"

"Shinobi that had the strength of 10 men, with heightened agility and reflexes, and unparalleled chakra reserves." Tsunade said as she leaned back in her chair. "Their hope was that just a few of these overpowered shinobi could turn the tide of the war in their favor."

Shizune leaned in, keen on hearing more of this tale.

"The Unit was stationed on a small island, completely isolated and given several hundred prisoners of war to conduct their experiments on, a large number of them were from Konoha."

Shizune nodded.

"Eventually Konoha learned of this Unit and that it was our shinobi they were conducting their experiments on; once the location of the island was learned the Hokage ordered a small but elite team to go and put and end to this Unit and rescue the shinobi."

"Which team?" Shizune asked.

"Jiraya, Orochimaru, and myself of course. We were just returning from a mission in the Land of Lightning when we got the orders. We spent three days on a fishing boat before we got to that island."

"What did you find when you got there?" Shizune asked, afraid of the answer.

Tsunade's face darkened when she spoke. "Hell on earth."

(Flashback)

Lightning flashed in the sky with a loud and powerful crack followed by the boom of thunder with such ferocity that it seemed to shake the earth as well as the sky. Rain did not merely pour, it seemed to be trying to attack the world below the clouds with a vengeance. The waves of the sea were as dark as ink, crashing against the rocky cliffs of the island, cliffs that were being scaled by three individuals, clutching tightly to the rocks as they climbed ever higher to the top of the cliff.

"Just for a record, this was a BULLSHIT idea!" Tsunade yelled, even the powerful gusts of sea spraying wind could not drown out her voice.

Orochimaru, taking a moment to wipe water from his eyes, nodded in agreement and glared daggers upward at Jiraiya. It was that fool who had suggested that they take this route, scaling these cliffs because at the top was where the compound was, where supposedly several dozen Konoha ninja were being held captive by Kiri.

Their mission was simple, search for and rescue any of their own and destroy any enemies. If they did not fall to their deaths on this cliff that is.

Jiraiya reached up and grabbed another hold when suddenly…

'BOOM!'

The entire cliff shook with a great deal of force from some kind of explosion that occurred at the top of the cliff, making Jiraiya lose his grip.

"AHHHHH!" He yelled as he fell headfirst towards the dark waters below, or so he would have if Tsunade had not grabbed his ankle at the last second, nearly losing her own grip as well.

Jiraiya let out a sigh of relief and craned his neck to look at the frowning Tsunade. "Thanks Hime." He said as he gave a thumbs up.

"BAKA!" Tsuande yelled, moving him closer to the cliff so he could get a grip again.

"Hey!" Orochimaru called to them both and pointed upward, where despite the rain, they could see a bright orange glow coming from the top of the cliffs. The glow of fire.

They proceeded to finish the climb with all haste possible, reaching the top and staring at the sight in front of them.

A three story complex building was burning, the bright flames surging and growing despite the heavy rain that tried to inhibit it. From within the building the three of them could hear explosions and various screams.

"Survivors!" Tsunade shouted as she tried to rush forward only to be stopped by Orochimaru, his face as cold and stone as ever.

"Too dangerous." He said as he gazed at the burning structure.

"What the hell are you talking about? We have to get in there!" Tsunade shouted, forcing her teammate to release her.

"To what purpose? Join them in becoming a pile of ash?" Orochimaru said as he turned his head and glared at Tsunade who glared back. "Look at that fire, it's this strong despite the storm. Anyone inside that inferno who's still alive won't survive long enough to get home to begin with. Why die with them?"

"Hey guys, look." Jiraiya said as he grabbed both their heads and turned them frontward.

Emerging from the smoke, they saw a single individual emerge. It was a young man, close to their own age, wearing a lab-coat with the Kiri symbol on the right sleeve. He was covered in dark soot, making a proper identification difficult, and despite coughing and hacking from all of the smoke he inhaled he was also laughing. In his arms he held a thick bundle of something.

The soot-covered man, presumably a scientist or doctor, stumbled towards the three shinobi, seemingly unaware that they were even there. "Ha... haha… we… we did it… we did it…" He said with a mad glee in his eyes.

Tsunade marched forward and grabbed the Kiri man by his neck and lifted him up. "What the hell happened here?" She demanded.

The man simply laughed.

(End Flashback)

"The next morning, the storm broke and the fire died, leaving much of the structure still standing. Everything on the ground floors was reduced to ash or charred beyond recognition. But what we found in the cellar…" Tsunade grimaced for a moment, finding it difficult to continue.

"What?" Shizune asked

"Bodies. Dozens of bodies mutilated. In ways so horrific that it was like something out of a horror movie. Or something we now expect from Orochimaru. The Kiri scientists had operated and experimented on all of their prisoners trying to perfect their super soldier serum. Most them did not survive the experimentation. But we guessed that one of them survived."

"You guess? But what about the scientist that had survived? Couldn't he have told you?"

Tsunade waved her hand in a dismissive manner. "He was useless, his mind was so shattered I doubt he even knew his name anymore. He babbled for a bit about something escaping but he kept breaking off then he just… seized up and died. I can only conclude it was due to something inside him poisoning him."

"Then how did you know so much?"

Tsunade held up the folder. "He had this very file on him, it was filled with all kinds of notes and records of what they had been doing." She opened it to a certain page and started reading aloud. "Those subjected to this that did not instantly die after the injection began to show signs of heightened aggression, reflexes, strength, and their chakra levels spiked. However, the subjects that could seem to handle such high levels of chakra suffered another side effect. Their metabolism spiked well beyond normal limits, rapidly deplenishing the nutrients within the cells and causing the body to overheat to the point where the subject literally burned from the inside out."

Tsunade closed the file and leaned back in her chair. "And as if that wasn't bad enough, I'm starting to think someone is resurrecting this work. And if that wasn't bad enough, I think Naruto's been exposed to it."

"What? What makes you say that?" Shizune asked.

"Back when he was in the hospital for treatment, his bloodwork showed a compound in his blood that our system couldn't identify. We assumed it was a drug or poison that his bloodline was overpowering or forcing dormant. Today we've got a sort of breakdown of this chemical and still don't know for sure what it is, but I fear this the same chemical used in this experiment. I'm trying to find anything on here that can prove or disprove it."

"But how could he have been exposed to it? If the scientist died, then…" Shizune paused for a moment and realized. "Orochimaru."

Tsunaded nodded. "As I said, the folder contained a lot of information about their experiments and some of the details on the serum. Although we only looked at it once before we handed it over to the Hokage, I always suspected that Orochimaru had an eidetic memory and only needed to see it that once."

"He kept a mental note of the records and tried to recreate the formula."

"That is what I am thinking. Although he possessed only limited data, a smart bastard like him probably worked out enough of the factors necessary to recreate it or at least one similar to it. And since then has been using the standard process of trial and error to perfect it." The blonde hokage said then angrily slammed her hand on her desk. "And I practically gave him Naruto as a test subject."

Shizune was hesitant to ask her next question. "If this thing in his blood is in fact connected to this, what does this mean for Naruto?"

Tsunade had to pause to find the best way to answer her apprentice. "There's no way of knowing for sure. I can only go off of from what is in this folder, which is useless since Orochimaru or whatever scientist he had in his employ created the serum centered around the base chemical of the original, no doubt altering and adding to it. Thus we cannot say for certain how this could be affecting Naruto. Unless I have the information on the exact serum that was used on Naruto, I have no idea about what I can do, other than tread carefully."

"Tread carefully?" Shizune repeated, confused.

Tsunade nodded, not looking happy with what she was about to confess. "He's not going to like it, but what I'll have to do is for his own good. If he gets out of control, especially after what the council saw him do, then Naruto will never know happiness again. I just hope I can get him to understand."

* * *

><p>After finally getting out of bed and getting their clothes on, while avoiding any funny business, Naruto and Hinata were outside walking around. They weren't going anywhere specific, they just knew they had no desire to separate just yet. And they knew if they stayed inside too much longer they would have given in to the urge to get much much more comfortable with each other.<p>

Hinata was holding Naruto's arm like a doting girlfriend, looking content to the public but inside she was beaming. After so long of only being able to dream about it, she had what she wanted right there in her arms and he wanted to be there. And he had kissed her, called her sexy, and had verbally promised to make love to her, something she honestly thought she'd have to wait until marriage for.

Her clan would be furious if they knew even half of this, but she couldn't care less about that. Her clan had never given a damn about her happiness, why should she care about their approval? Thoughts of wiping Hiashi's smug sense of 'I said so' right off his face made her feel oddly satisfied, and part of her wanted to see Naruto defend their right to be together and clobber the Hyuuga clan head, as a declaration of his love for her of course.

"Hey, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked. She didn't respond, but she looked to him to show he had her attention. "Isn't it a bit odd that most of our lives neither of us have really acted like perverts and here we are actually forcing ourselves to _not_ be perverts?"

Hinata smiled. "Oh, I don't think so. We've both just been suppressing the urge for years and now that we have a chance to release it the urge just feels that much stronger because of it."

"I don't think I've been suppressing anything." Naruto commented.

"Oh I think you have been. You may have been a late bloomer, but I think you were just so afraid of being thought of as a pervert that you tried convincing yourself you had no urges to begin with."

"But... I never had any urges before." Naruto defended.

With a coy smirk, Hinata got close enough to him to press her breasts against his chest. "Got any urges now?"

Naruto's face became what their friends would jokingly refer to as a 'Hinata-level of red'. "I'm getting something that's for sure. I just don't understand why now."

Hinata giggled, finding his innocence adorable while flattered that she of all people is the one he's showing signs of physical attraction to. Not Sakura, Ino, or Tenten, but her, she was the one who made him horny. And if this morning was anything to go by, he didn't intend to suppress these urges much longer.

"Maybe because you know you can trust me more than some other girls." She pulled away before he could put his foot in his mouth. "Enough of that, we left the apartment to avoid funny business. Let's go do something we can freely enjoy."

Naruto nodded. "Any ideas?"

Hinata smiled, taking Naruto's hand and pulling him along, taking him somewhere he couldn't guess at.

* * *

><p>Later that day at the Hokage tower Nauro was heading to Tsunade's office, awaiting some good news while Hinata was outside the tower, awaiting his time to fulfill his promise to her.<p>

"What's up Baachan?" Naruto happily asked when entering Tsunade's office, already having a good idea what this meeting would be about.

Tsunade didn't look as happy as he was, but Naruto ignored that. "Naruto, something has been brought to my attention. Since I know the details of it will only confuse you, I'll tell you the only part you really need to know. Until a certain matter is resolved, you are ineligible for promotion."

Naruto's whole body jerked and his smile vanished to be replaced by sheer shock. "What? But you said-"

"I know what I said! But there's something wrong with you and it can be dangerous!" Tsunade was quick to interject, unfortunately saying a little too much in the process.

Now Naruto sported a small frown, not one of righteous fury but generic annoyance. "Something wrong with me? This village is _still_ bitching about the Kyuubi? For Kami's sake what a bunch of babies!"

"Kyuubi's got nothing to do with this Naruto!" Tsunade proclaimed.

The blonde boy looked unconvinced, and folded his arms. "Then what the hell is it _now_ Baachan? What excuse does this village have _now_ for telling me I'm good enough to die for it but not good enough to reward for a job well done?"

_'Should I tell him about what I found in his blood?'_ Tsunade asked herself, not wishing to go into specifics because she knew Naruto would not take it well in his bad mood. Finding out the torture he experienced was having a long term effect on him was bound to backfire unless she could calm him down first. "There are a couple of concerns at play, one I can tell you about regarding your tendency to get reckless and emotionally invested in a conflict-"

She was interrupted by Naruto slamming a palm on her desk and leaning his now furious face into hers, making her frightened by the sheer unexpectedness of it. "Are you fucking with me? You're using the same damn excuse you gave me three years ago?"

Too late did Tsunade realize that the words she just used were identical to the ones she gave him when she first became hokage and the issue of promoting Naruto then had come up. He had great talent and potential and could win in fights that even gave jounin trouble, yet the deciding factor against him was the fact he fought impulsively and it seemed most of his victories only happened because he took the fight personally, leading her and several others to wonder and doubt if he could be as strong in a situation he didn't take personally or had the emotional maturity to prevent taking everything personally.

"Naruto I-"

"You don't trust me. For all your kind words you're still convinced I'm some stupid kid who never grew up. Was that entire test just some way to measure my strength so this village can know how best to put me down?"

"That's not true!" Tsunade firmly stated, trying to stare him down now that the shock value had passed. "Naruto, are you even listening to yourself? You've been acting crazy, you aren't yourself."

"No, I was acting crazy before, when I was naïve enough to think you would actually keep your promise. You act like you care, but you are just like the rest of them. You see me as a monster."

"Naruto-"

"TO HELL WITH YOU! TO HELL WITH YOU AND THE REST OF THIS VILLAGE!" Naruto shouted and stormed out of the room, slamming the door loudly.

Leaving Tsunade standing there for a long moment, before she gently sat down in her chair and pressed a button on her intercom.

"Shizune, I need you to send a message to the ANBU, Uzumaki Naruto is to be put under surveillance."


	9. Chapter 9

When Naruto emerged from the Hokage Tower, Hinata was anticipated a few things. Him wearing a new chuunin vest and his trademark grin, then taking her into his strong arms before spinning her around and shouting to Konoha and beyond he was finally a chuunin and one step closer to their next hokage. Then they'd go for ramen to celebrate and back to his place for some heavy sexual stuff that would embarrass even Jiraiya to think about.

What she had not expected was for him to stomp out nearly breaking the door off its hinges looking more outraged than Neji had back when he treated her like she might have well have given Hizashi to Kumo with a bow wrapped around him.

"Naruto-kun?" She asked, stepping up to him trying not to make herself look like a threat. "What happened?"

Seeing her Naruto closed his eyes, unable to drop his glare but refusing to aim it at her. "She betrayed me. That wrinkled old bitch _refuses_ to make me a chuunin."

"She what?" Hinata asked, shocked that Tsunade would go back on her promise like that. Why would she do such a thing?

Naruto nodded and opened his eyes, now trusting himself to look at her without anger, or at least less anger. "Yeah, she said I haven't changed at all since I was a kid. I'm still out of control and immature. It's the exact same excuse she gave me years ago when I asked why she kept me genin despite fighting a bijuu _and_ Orochimaru, right in front of her in fact. Three years of training with her own teammate and she thinks I've only gotten stupider."

Now Hinata frowned. "That bitch!" She said before realizing she said it, but couldn't find herself to take back.

Naruto nodded. "This entire government is against me. You saw the note, you know I'm not exaggerating." She nodded, remembering the footnote that was incredibly rude to her loved one. Naruto then put his arms around her. "I think you're right Hinata-chan, I think you really are the only one I can trust."

"I'm sorry." She said, knowing it hurt him that despite how much he wanted to make bonds with others they weren't willing to return the effort. "At least you have me."

"Hinata-chan..." He said softly, at a loss for words and simply engulfed her in a hug she made no attempt to escape from. "I... don't want to be alone tonight. I don't know what I might do. Can you stay with me today?"

"I'll stay as long as you want me to Naruto-kun." She told him soothingly, nestling into him. 'We can't celebrate his promotion tonight, but he deserves a good night. And I will give him one. He deserves it.'

"Get your hands off her scum!" A furious shout cried out, ruining the moment. Both teens turned and saw Hiashi running to them looking like he wanted to murder one of them, and both knew which one he was aiming for.

Right away Hinata left Naruto's embrace but rather than back away she got in front of him and took a stance, byakugan active but waiting to act. Hiashi saw this but didn't bother telling her to move._ 'He doesn't care if I'm caught up in his assault. Claims he's protecting me yet doesn't care if I'm a victim of his own hands. This man is the true scum.'_

Once Hiashi got close enough, Hinata made her move. "Protective Eight Trigrams Sixty-four Palms!"

Hiashi ran right into his daughter's defensive technique, one he had chewed her out for creating claiming that the Kaiten was all a Hyuuga needed in terms of defense. Hyuuga's believed that the best defense was an unstoppable offense. But all too late Hiashi realized one mistake on his part, he never stopped to consider that this jutsu _could_ be used for offense as well.

From her palms grew two thin chakra blades, and Hinata starting swinging her arms at her father like she was trying to hack him to pieces. She cut open his skin and tore his clothes, and because Hiashi wasn't an active ninja anymore he was long out of the habit of wearing mesh armor clothing, unlike his daughter, so he took more damage than he normally would have.

Injured but not beaten, Hiashi backed away and winced greatly, trying his hardest to ignore the pain his daughter had inflicted on him. "Hinata, you're going to regret this."

"The only thing I would regret is letting you try to kill him, Oyaji." Hinata replied, taking pleasure in his shocked expression.

"What did you just call me?" He asked with an offended hiss.

"You heard me. Are your ears as dull as your intelligence?"

"I am your father and you will address me with respect!" Hiashi demanded.

"You're no father. You're the exact opposite of what a father should be."

SMACK!

The sound was loud and audible as Hiashi's hand connected with the side of Hinata's face and knocked her to the ground.

Naruto's eyes widened. Then he felt something stirring in him, something he had only felt a few times before in his life, the desire to kill. He had felt this before, but never like this. No this was different. He did not just want to kill Hiashi, he wanted to tear him apart. He wanted to rip his throat out and split this man's arrogant head open.

_'Do it.'_ A series of dark voices whispered in his ear.

_'Tear his heart out.'_

_'Make him choke on his own guts.'_

_'Kill him.'_

Naruto narrowed his eyes and took a menacing step towards Hiashi, but Hinata, who held her hand up to prevent Naruto from moving a step forward, brought him to his senses. Once he stopped, she simply got back on her feet and glared at her father.

"You just made a powerful enemy today, Oyaji." Hinata warned, actually referring to Naruto. If she knew him as well as she thought she did, there was no way Hiashi was not someone Naruto wanted to hurt right now. And Kami help the Hyuuga leader when Naruto decided to act on that desire.

Hiashi, for some reason, when he looked into those eyes he did not see his daughter for a moment. Instead he saw something dark and malicious. Like he was staring into the eyes of a coiled cobra ready to strike just for the fun of it. Not willing to be intimidated by something smaller than himself, he quickly shook off the feeling and regained his poise.

"And what makes you think you're powerful enough to be a threat to me?" Hiashi hissed, mistaking her true message. "You think you know better than me and can judge me? You know nothing about being a parent or a clan head. Weakness is all you know, a weakness that is an embarrassment to the proud Hyuuga name. As Kami-sama is my witness, you'll never be either a parent or clan head if I have anything to say about it!"

Hinata surprised him by giving him a rather venomous smirk as she stood up, something he thought was a physical impossibility for her. "In that case Oyaji, I intend to remove myself from the clan."

Hiashi looked momentarily surprised, then enraged. "You dare invoke a Nigeguchi? I won't allow it!"

"What's the matter? Surprised to have the first one to invoke it in nearly three generations be your own flesh and blood?" Hinata taunted.

If there was one thing Hiashi disliked more than being insulted, it was being challenged. Especially by his own kin. He glared at Hinata then at Naruto before letting out a loud scoff. "Very well, go live in squalor with this pathetic boy or better yet go die in a ditch. I curse the day you crawled forth from your mother's womb." He said in so much anger he was nearly foaming at the mouth.

Hiashi turned heal and started to walk away, as he did he couldn't resist getting in one more remark over his shoulder. "You have one hour to collect your garbage from the compound. Anything you leave behind I am burning." With that he continued to walk away and out of sight.

"Hinata-chan, what did he mean by that?" Naruto asked, trying to withhold some anger since the only person around him was not the source. "It sounded like he wanted to murder you. If I had any faith in the old hag right now I'd get her to do something about it."

"Let's go to one of the training grounds. You'll need something to hit there." Hinata told him gently taking his arm, the moment she did he began to feel his anger dissipate and he nodded, trusting her, but worried since she said he was only going to get madder.

The two went to Naruto's usual training ground when he started out as a ninja, stopping by the bridge he, Sakura, and Sasuke would wait for Kakashi on. The nostalgia of the place would hopefully help him keep some degree of calmness.

"Naruto-kun, you know how sometimes a clan will banish a member they find unfit to keep among them?" Hinata started.

He nodded. "Yes, and I always thought that was stupid."

"Well, there's this custom called Nigeguchi. It's when a person in a clan decides to escape the clan by basically banishing themselves from it. It's like the clan equivalent of emancipation."

"Wait, you want to kick yourself out of your own family?" Naruto asked, not really understanding what emancipation was but understanding this at least.

"It's for my own good Naruto-kun. They will never let me be happy as long as you're a part of what makes me happy. And without you in my life then it is not worth living."

Naruto felt a wave of emotion go through him at that statement. _'Why did I not see her feelings years ago?'_ He asked and cursed himself for chasing after Sakura for so long when there was someone who already loved him.

Hinata let a small smile form on her face. "Besides, I don't believe they ever intend for me to be happy anyway."

"You really think he wasn't just speaking in anger?" Naruto asked, hoping Hinata was exaggerating but she wasn't the type to believe the worst about someone. So for her to say this, and about her own relatives, something _really_ had to be wrong about them. Besides, looking at her father and what Neji used to be like, it wasn't that hard to believe someone in her clan would intentionally ruin her happiness out of spite.

"I wish I could say he was, but I know he wasn't. He honestly meant what he said about me." Hinata said with a nod, leaning on the bridge railing to look into the water underneath. Naruto did the same once she did. "To the Hyuuga, happiness is based on what's good for the clan, not the members. Or to be more precise, what's good for the head and the elders. Imagine a genin team where the jounin sensei wasn't concerned about their students and only was concerned about how the genin made him look to others. Or at best, was only concerned about the most talented genin and said 'screw you' to the others."

Naruto frowned, images of Kakashi and Sasuke coming to his mind at her words.

"That's essentially how the Hyuuga clan leaders treat the Hyuuga clan itself." Hinata continued. "They value the reputation of the clan more than its well-being. They don't care what people like me think, just what everyone else thinks. Or I should say, everyone else they actually want to impress thinks. People like the hokage, daimyo, nobles, clients, those kind of people. But people like you and me, as far as they're concerned anything we say isn't worth the breath we say it with."

"Normally the elders and head of the Hyuuga don't care who marries who as long as it doesn't hurt the clan. But in my case, they refuse to let me have any option that cannot be used to their favor. One time my father actually looked me in the eye and said 'Happiness is a luxury you are forbidden from having'."

Naruto's eyes widened, the whiskered blonde looking like he wanted to explode and truly become a reincarnated Kyuubi to hear this. "What the fuck kind of father would say that to his own daughter? If I had a daughter I wouldn't try to control who she falls in love with."

Hinata smiled, briefly picturing a young girl who had both her and Naruto's traits before getting back to the important issue. "For a while I've wanted to try and change my clan from within, not with force but with persuasion. I didn't want to bully them the way they bullied me, I wanted to lead by example and convince them I was right, not merely forbid them from openly disagreeing. That way the Branch House could be freed from their seal and the elders would no longer act like the clan exists solely to benefit them."

"And I still intend to change the Hyuuga clan too. Like I swore to Neji." Naruto added, wrapping his arms around the white-eyed girl, like just holding her was preventing anything bad from ever being possible to her.

Feeling better, Hinata scooted over and leaned comfortably against him, and she put her arm around him. "I know."

He had no complaints and hugged her back. "I need you Hinata-chan." He whispered to her. "I'm just so afraid of what would happen if you weren't with me. I can't lose you Hinata-chan. You already mean more to me than anyone else in this village."

Hinata smiled warmly at his words. Naruto already had her heart, and she practically already has his. He wasn't yet in love with her but right now he trusted her completely, and that was the first step to love. "Naruto-kun, trust me, you won't ever lose me."

"What will you do when you leave?" Naruto asked.

"I'll find a place to live, with your help of course." She started.

"Absolutely! No way I'm making you sleep on the streets. You can even stay with me until you find your own place." He said firmly. He wanted to even say _'just stay with me' _but he did not want to come on too strong, not just yet.

"I'd like that. Anyway, then we work at helping you become hokage so you can improve both the Hyuuga and Konoha by taking it away from the current self-interested rulers." She added. "For now though, we have to go inform the hokage. I issued the statement, it's my duty to set it up and have her agree to it.

Naruto frowned. "I don't like the idea of seeing her now, but-"

"Sorry Naruto-kun, but you can't be involved in this." She told him. "Only the hokage can be involved, if she approves then..." Hinata paused there.

Naruto arched an eyebrow. "What happens if she doesn't approve? It sounds like you're implying something."

Hinata sighed. "If she doesn't approve, then she's required to sentence me to death to prevent me from ever betraying my clan, from ever becoming a potential Uchiha Itachi."

Naruto eyes narrowed and he felt the dark feeling returning to him, he quickly tightened his hold on her. "I'm coming with you on this. If she even thinks about killing you..." He didn't want to finish that thought.

* * *

><p>"Tsunade-sama, Naruto's back." Shizune told her mentor. "And he's not in a good mood."<p>

"But he _is_ back, that's good." The female hokage said aloud, but then reconsidered. '_To return this soon... maybe not so much.'_ The blonde woman turned her attention back to Shizune. "Let him come in."

Naruto soon came in, and Tsunade saw that his expression was still unforgiving. Next to him was Hinata, his arm still around her. This didn't make the hokage feel better. "Naruto-"

"I'm not here for me, I'm here for her." Naruto cut her off, patting Hinata to emphasize his point. "I'm here to make sure you don't screw her over like you did me."

"I didn't..." Tsunade hissed, ready to yell, but knowing Naruto was too stubborn right now to give her anything other then in-one-ear-out-the-other treatment. "What is this even about anyway?"

"Hokage-sama, I am issuing a Nigeguchi to my clan." Hinata admitted.

Tsunade's reaction to this was much milder than Naruto's had been, though she was no less shocked. "You what?"

"I cannot live with the Hyuuga clan anymore. I want out, I am done, I wish to cease being a member of the Hyuuga." Hinata calmly explained.

"You can't be serious." Tsunade protested, though she could see in Hinata's eyes that she was.

"A Nigeguchi has already been issued. All that's left is your role." Hinata countered.

_'Dammit, I don't want to be involved in a Nigeguchi.'_ Tsunade mentally groaned. "No one has ever asked for a Nigeguchi in my term in office. In fact there has not been one in almost a hundred years, not since my grandfather was Hokage. Most of the people sort out these problems thru conversation, hell most of them were probably too afraid the hokage would refuse."

"Are you?" Naruto hissed, his expression promised hell itself if Tsunade essentially sentenced Hinata to die.

"I don't suppose there's a way out of it, is there?" Tsunade tested.

"It's my father, you expect him to let there be a way out for me?" Hinata asked.

Tsunade sighed in defeat. "I suppose not. I guess I have no choice then. But for the record I think this is a very stupid idea and personally I'm disappointed in you Hinata. I thought you were more level-headed than this."

"I guess you don't know me any better than you know Naruto-kun." Hinata said sharply. Without waiting for permisson, both teens left.

Tsunade sat back in her chair for a moment and shook her head "What a day this has turned out to be."

But something deep down in her warned that the storm had only just begun.

* * *

><p>Hinata returned to her compound with Naruto accompanying her.<p>

"He is not welcome here Hinata-sama." One of the guards said, pointing to the Uzumaki as if he were some kind of stray dog with mange.

"I invited him. That is all the welcome he needs." Hinata said bluntly, walking right past the guards.

As they walked thru the compound Naruto noticed the glares that were directed their way. He was not sure if they were directed at him or if they were directed at Hinata. Hinata simply walked on, not taking any heed but Naruto just glared right back, his eyes daring anyone to try anything.

"So what do you want to get from your room Hinata? I can make plenty of shadow clones to carry boxes." Naruto offered as they approached Hinata's room.

She simply shook her head. "That won't be necessary Naruto. I only want to collect a few personal items and some clothes. Leave the rest for Oyaji to burn like he wants. Let him have his little tantrum, then he'll be less likely to take out his anger on us later."

"Ah, a decoy tactic." Naruto noted.

They entered her room and quickly got to work gathering up the items that Hinata wanted to keep with her. Mainly the stuff she couldn't replace or had sentimental attachment too. In just a few short minutes virtually all of Hinata's life was packed up into three medium-sized boxes.

They were just about to pick up the boxes and leave when suddenly the door opened and in burst Hanabi. "Onee-san!" The younger sister of the broken family cried as she wrapped her arms around her elder sibling, tears streaming down her face. "Please… please tell me it's not true."

Hinata nodded and embraced Hanabi tightly in a hug. "Yes, it is."

"Please… please don't go. I'll talk to Otou-sama. Maybe I can-"

Hinata shook her head. "No, this has been coming for a long time now. I _need_ to leave."

Tears continued to flow from Hanabi's eyes down her cheeks. "But Onee-san, I love you. Please don't leave me."

"I love you too Hanabi-chan, the only regret I will have to leaving this place is leaving you behind." Hinata said as she gently kissed her sister's forehead.

"Ahem." A voice interrupted. Everyone turned to see Neji standing there, his face cold and empty of emotion.

"Hinata-san, Naruto-san, by order of the Hyuuga clan leader, Hiashi-sama, you are both ordered to leave the Hyuuga compound now and to not return."

Hinata released her sister from her embrace and looked at her cousin. "No heart-felt goodbye from you Nii-san?"

Neji stood to the side. "Please leave the compound now before you are escorted out." He said plainly.

Silently, Hinata picked up the lightest box and Naruto the heavier two, then they began to exit the room. Hinata was the first to leave but before Naruto could Neji held his arm up as a barrier.

The blonde looked at the Hyuuga who continued to stare straight ahead as to not make eye contact. "Protect her, Naruto-san."

"With my life." Was all Naruto said and he was allowed to pass.

Naruto and Hinata walked through the gates of the Hyuuga compound that were forcefully shut behind them.

And never once did either of them look back.

* * *

><p>"Are you truly letting that worthless girl leave that easily?" Tesshi Hyuuga, Hiashi's father and former clan head, asked his son and current clan head while they watched the former heiress and the Kyuubi boy walk away from the clan estate from a second floor window.<p>

"Legally we have to." Hiashi rued. _'She's smiling. How dare she act like leaving the Hyuuga is a good thing. Even worse, leaving with that boy of all people.'_

"Damn that bitch hokage. How dare she grant a Nigeguchi of all things. She could have refused and given us the satisfaction of doing away with that girl." Tesshi complained.

"I suspect the reason she did it is because of the boy." Hiashi commented as the teens left their view. "He has clearly been giving her ideas."

"As much as I agree with you, the fault cannot be entirely his." Tesshi argued. "Your daughter was stupid enough to listen to him."

"I told the Hokage that having those two around each other was a bad idea. Now there's no telling what may happen." Hiashi stated. "For all we know, she will get pregnant and have byakugan-bearing bastards that are beyond our authority."

"Over my dead body will there be a byakugan outside of the clan. I didn't give up Hizashi for nothing." Tesshi insisted.

Hiashi subtly nodded. "My brother died to ensure others did not obtain our doujutsu. I will not let his sacrifice be in vain. Hinata must not be allowed to have children."

"We should just kill her." Tesshi suggested.

"And risk the Hokage getting ideas? As stupid as she is, she would notice if someone who was granted freedom from a clan were to suddenly die within the village. And as much as I hate to acknowledge it, the boy is getting close to her. If he gets the idea that we killed her, I foresee that he will release the Kyuubi and say to hell with us and Konoha."

"Doing nothing is not an option Hiashi." Tesshi said very firmly, showing he had every intention of hurting Hinata in some form because of her actions.

"I agree, but we are above brash and impulsive decisions. We will not stoop to such commoner resorts to get what we deserve." Hiashi told his father.

"Do you have a plan?" Tesshi asked, hoping the answer was yes.

* * *

><p>"Well, welcome home." Naruto said when he and Hinata went inside, not sure what else to say.<p>

_'He sounds upset. Does he feel responsible for what I did?'_ Hinata worried, knowing full well that he wasn't worried about having her here. "Naruto-kun, I want you to know that what I did was not your fault. I chose to do it, you had nothing to do with it."

"But if I hadn't hugged you, your father-"

"Would have still been a jerk even if you weren't touching me." Hinata cut off. "Remember, I chose to leave my clan Naruto-kun. I chose it. No one can be held responsible for my actions but me."

The blonde sighed and then gave her a fiercely protective look. "I just know your old man isn't going to just let this happen. He's probably going to bitch to Baa-chan and demand you return to him. Or come take you back himself without bothering to see the hokage."

"If he tries then we will stand up to him." The white-eyed girl reassured him, pulling him into a hug to make him feel better. Naruto was so angry, at what had happened to him and what had happened to her. He wanted to hurt someone and he wanted to make her feel better. But he was suspended from active duty and if he acted wrongly it would only turn the village against him more.

"I don't know what to do. If I try to stand up to him, I know the bastards running this village will make _me_ the bad guy." Naruto added.

"Let's not worry about that. We're here, I'm safe and you're not the bad guy. You are the best guy in the world. I'm the luckiest girl in the world to be here with you."

Naruto put his forehead against hers gently. "No, I'm the luckiest guy in the world to have you trust and care about me. I would do anything for you Hinata-chan."

"Anything?" She asked, hoping she could get what she had in mind.

Naruto nodded. "Anything. Everyone else has basically given up on me, but not you. I would do anything to avoid disappointing you too."

Hinata smiled. "I want to share something with you. Something very special, and will prove beyond all doubt that I love you." She said in a whisper.

"What's that?" He asked, curious.

"I want you to make love to me."


End file.
